The Music of The Heart
by justacrush
Summary: .. and your love, is the music of my heart. After the ups and downs the world brings, is learning to love again as easy as listening to the music of your heart? Sequel to The Sweetest Thing
1. Time of My Life

AN: Hey Yah'll, I'm sorry it's taken soo long to get this out to you!! I wanted to make sure it's a good as you deserve, I just hope I didn't disapoint!!! Leave some wonderful comments!!! If you haven't read "The Sweetest Thing," then I doubt this will make much sense.. so I would suggest going and reading that first!!! Also, just keep in mind that this is three years later!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical, duh.

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_Now I've had the time of my life  
No I never felt like this before  
Yes I swear it's the truth  
and I owe it all to you_

July 28th, three years later. Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"Taylor, this looks great!" Throwing her arms around her best friend, Gabriella and Taylor stood in the doorway and jumped up in excitement. "Look at all of the pink!" Pulling apart, Gabriella admired the array of decorations throughout the living room and kitchen. Pink balloons, streamers, and confetti covered every surface possible.

"Believe me when I say this, it was all Sharpay." Taylor clutched onto her best friend and walked into the house. "Come on, let me show you the cake Zeke made."

Outside in the driveway, Troy was leaning up against the car peering over the tower of presents he was holding in his arms. "Um… Gabriella, a little help please!"

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry babe!" Rushing to his side, she pulled two presents off the top of the pile, kissed him on the cheek and walked back inside. Still holding several gifts, Troy slowly followed his wife, waddling through the front door.

"You really didn't need to get presents," Taylor blushed. "I mean come on, she's only one."

"I know that, but we love her so much." Sitting in a high chair at the kitchen table, a little girl sat watching the excitement around her. She had beautiful, dark skin that matched perfectly with her silky, black curls. Gabriella covered the baby with kisses and tickled underneath her arms. "Maddie, look at your cute little dress!"

"That's also Sharpay's doing." Taylor watched as Gabriella picked the little girl up and carried her over to the counter where Zeke was covering a cake in thick, pink icing.

"Zeke this looks amazing," Sticking a finger towards the bowl of icing, Zeke popped Gabriella's knuckles before she had a chance to take a bite. "Sorry, I'm hungry," she squealed and then leaned in and kissed her friend on the cheek.

"Alright, just a taste." Zeke relented and pushed the bowl in her direction.

"Taylor, where's Chad?" After pilling the presents in the living room, Troy joined the gang in the kitchen and went over to give Maddie a kiss on the cheek. "Hey beautiful." He said to the giggling baby, still resting on Gabby's hip.

"He has a game." Her answer was quick and sharp and a definite hint of resentment could be heard in the tone of her voice. Gabriella looked over at Troy who had an astonished look at his face.

"A Lakers' game?" He asked, bewildered. The guests standing in the kitchen quieted down and watched the scene before them.

"What other kind of game would he be at?" Taylor's snide remark caused Gabriella to wince.

"Taylor…" Putting his hands up in defense, Troy finished, "there wasn't a game today." Everyone stood, waiting for a reaction to come out of Taylor, whose face already showed evidence of how angry she was.

Before she could explode, however, a little boy came running into the kitchen screaming at the top of his lungs, "Troy!"

"Matthew, my man!" Turning around, Troy bent over and picked up the little boy and swung him in the air. "How's it going?" His huge, adult-sized hand looked funny up against the three year olds' when they high -fived.

"Let's go play basket ball!" Setting the boy down on the floor, Matthew began pulling on Troy's hand, leading him outside.

Troy bent down on his knees and came eye level with the little boy, "maybe after cake and ice cream. But, I do know that there are some presents over there with your name on it." Matthew's face grew wide and ran into the living room, Troy following right behind him.

"Taylor, I'm sure there's a reason…" In an attempt to console her still angry friend, Gabriella sat Maddie back in the high chair and walked over to the counter where Taylor was standing.

"I don't care." Taylor brushed a loose tear from her cheek. "Zeke, are you almost done?"

"Yep. Gabriella do you want to cut the lights?" Taylor picked up the silver tray that held the cake and carried it carefully over the table and sat it down in front of her baby daughter. Troy was holding Matthew when he joined his friends around the table.

"So do we sing?" Appearing at her husband's side, Gabriella grabbed his hand and looked around the room. Everyone faces revealed that they were still uncomfortable from the recent fight.

"Happy Birthday to you!" Sharpay began and waved her arms as if she were directing a chorus.

"Happy Birthday to you!" Joining in, the gang broke out into song. "Happy Birthday dear Madeline." Even Matthew chirped in at the final verse. "Happy Birthday to you!"

"Matthew, why don't you help Maddie blow out her candles?" Troy leaned over the table, still holding the little boy. With a huge puff, the single flame disappeared and a round of laughter and applause erupted. Squealing, Maddie reached over the tray of her high chair and dug her fists into the beautifully decorated cake.

"Maddie, No!" Taylor yelled, and pulled the cake away. The baby's lip began to quiver and everyone was prepared for what was coming.

"Taylor, it' s okay. I made an adult cake." Zeke replied, pulling an exact replica out of the refrigerator. "Please, give her back the cake. Don't make her cry, your daughter has a nice set of lungs." Laughing, Taylor slid the cake back in front of the little girl.

"Here Matthew, dig in." Troy sat the little boy in a chair next to Maddie and watched as he stuck his hand into the side of the cake. "I'll help you give them a bath later," he smiled at Taylor, whose worried face quickly turned into a smile.

After all of the presents had been opened, the mess of wrapping paper thrown away and most of the dishes washed, everyone sat around outside watching the children run around in the Danforth's huge back yard.

Glass in hand, Sharpay leaned forward and offered a toast. "To another great summer!"

After a clink of glasses, Taylor leaned back and asked, "so Sharpay, when are we going to throw you a baby shower?"

"Well, as soon as we find out what we're having, which is next Friday." Sharpay rubbed her hand over the small bump she had acquired.

"Let's hope you have a girl, or else that poor little boy will be the only one in school wearing pink." Kelsi's comment sent laughter around the group, except for Zeke who was rubbing his face with his hands. When he let a small 'oh no' escape his lips, everyone began laughing even harder.

"Well, Ryan used to wear that pink shirt to match Sharpay." Jason added to the joke, which even Zeke couldn't deny laughing at.

"Poor Ryan, I wish he could have been here." Taylor sighed, noticing the missing member of their group. Other than her husband, of course.

"Well he wishes Madeline a very happy birthday," Sharpay smiled. "He can't wait to see everyone at his premiere in January." A conversation continued on for several minutes about Ryan's new performance on Broadway, which turned into laughter over high school memories. "What are you guys so gah-gah about, today?" Sharpay asked, noticing Troy and Gabriella's lack of interest in the conversation. In fact, they had spent most of the time at the party kissing and hugging on each other.

"What are you talking about?" Blushing, the couple pulled away from each other and stared at their friends. Everyone had sat down there glasses and they demanded an answer.

"Dude, you were totally in a serious make-out session for like thirty minutes while we sat here and talked." After Jason's comment, even Troy couldn't hold back from blushing.

"Jason, we're not in high school. People don't make out anymore." Kelsi jokingly swatted at her husband.

"Speak for yourself." Sharpay laughed, "Seriously, though." After everyone had finished laughing, she composed her self and returned to the matter at hand. "It's like yah'll have a secret or something."

Troy Bolton bashfully looked down at his feet and began admiring the blades of grass, while his wife reached over and grabbed his hand and smiled the most elegant smile.

As if Taylor could read their minds, she shouted, "Oh my God, yah'll are pregnant!"

"Well, honey, I guess they've figured it out!" Troy laughed and Gabriella looked at towards her friends who were bubbling with anticipation about the news.

"We're going to have a baby!" As soon as Gabriella said the words, the couple was over whelmed with hugs and high fives.

"Guys, this is going to be an amazing year!" Sharpay's voice rang out over the backyard, where the group sat celebrating well into the night.

_Now I've had the time of my life  
No I never felt this way before_


	2. Summer Lovin'

**Thank you soo much for the reviews!! You deserve two chapters, just for being such faithful readers!!!**

**Disclaimer: Don't you think that if I owned HSM, I would let you know...

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_Summer lovin' had me a blast_

_Summer lovin' happened so fast_

_I met a girl crazy for me _

_Met a boy cute as can be_

_The Fourth of July, 2 years before._

"Did you know that before I met you, I never went to a fireworks show?" Inching closer to his warm body, Gabriella wrested her head on her husband's chest and inhaled the scent of the day that lingered on his clothes. Together they were sprawled out on a blanket, surrounded by people anxiously waiting the main attraction of the night.

"I know." Kissing the top of her forehead, he sat up and grabbed a spare blanket nearby. "It's like a tradition. You have to go to the fireworks on the fourth of July." He threw the blanket on top of them and pulled her body close to his side.

Even though there was a band playing only a few feet away, venders were selling snacks and souvenirs, and children were screaming a the nearby playground, the couple was in their own little world. Quietly, she spoke "I love you and your traditions."

"Well, I can't wait until we have our own traditions," he nestled closer and whispered in her ear. In front of them, the sun was setting over the lake and children were still running around the playground.

"Mmm… me too." Gabriella closed her eyes and let the wind massage her face.

Following suit, he too closed his eyes and settled in the moment. For all of the hot, sticky days this summer had brought, the first chilly evening was perfect. The band and noises around them were slowly coming to an end, and Troy could feel the mood of the evening turn from excitement to anticipation. When he opened his eyes, the sun had almost completely set. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"A lot." She opened her eyes and leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. "Look, it's about to start!" They watched the sun finally set behind the trees.

"You know how we agreed to wait two years until we started to have kids," As other families were getting ready for the show to start, collecting their children and finding their lawn chairs and blankets, Gabriella bolted up and looked at her husbands face. His gleeful smile sent chills down her spine.

"Yeah." They had only had this conversation once, which in turn ended in the first fight of their marriage. "I thought we agreed…"

"We did." Sitting up as well, he looked into her beautiful brown eyes. " I know it's only been a year, but…"

"So what are you saying?" People around them started to chant and applaud, signaling the beginning of the show. She didn't pay any attention though, her heart was fluttering and her stomach was swarming with excitement.

"I'm saying I want to have a baby with you." A smile broke across his face and tears of happiness burst from her eyes. "What do you say?"

After swiping a hand underneath her eyes to clear the tears, she wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him long and passionately on the lips. He laughed as she squealed "absolutely," causing the family sitting a few feet away gave them a curious look. As the first firework-exploded overhead, they fell down onto the blanket, enjoying each other instead of the show.

_Summer days driftin' away, to uh-oh those summer nights_

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_Present Day Fourth of July_

Taylor was sitting on the sofa in the living room, a glass of wine in one hand and the bottle in the other. Except for one dim table lamp and the glare from the television, the house was completely dark. There was evidence of tearstains on her face and the volume was up on the TV to hide her sobs.

"Shit!" With several loud thumps and a sequence of swears, Chad stumbled into the living room. "What's with all of the luggage? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yep." Was her only reply as she got up and walked into the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" He walked into the kitchen and began rummaging around for something to eat.

"Home." She watched as he fiddled with cutting a piece of cake for himself. Out of habit, she smiled at her husband's goofy persona.

"You are home." She was standing at the sink when he came over and tried to kiss her on the lips. She pulled away.

"Yeah right," she scoffed. "I'm going to Albuquerque." She could already feel more tears well up.

"For like a visit?" It may have been the way he sloppily ate the piece of cake, his naivety to the situation, or the intense love she had for him, but something caused Taylor to explode with rage.

"No, Chad. I'm not going home for vacation." Turning around to face him, she gripped onto the edge of the counter for support. "I'm taking Matthew and Maddie and we're moving home with my parents."

"Why?" His face showed more confusion than hurt.

"Because you're never here. Because you lied about the basketball game. Because you missed your daughter's birthday!" She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, hoping he then might understand. Instead, she kept her voice at a whisper trying to not wake the children. "Now you missed the Fourth of July!"

"What are you talking about? Why are you so upset?" He sat in the chair, astonished.

"Chad, you missed your daughter's first birthday party! That only happens once!" Tears began falling freely now down her face. "On top of all of that, Troy told me there wasn't even a game that day!"

"I was out. Just out." He got up from the table and walked to the refrigerator to grab a drink. "Can't I get a day off?" His defenseless nature sent Taylor over the edge.

"From your kids? From your wife?" In fury, she pushed the water bottle out of his hand, spilling water all over the floor. "Chad you never tuck the kids into bed anymore. You never play with Matthew. Troy's here more than you are, and he lives seven hundred miles away!" She watched as Chad boiled with anger. His previous innocent demeanor disappeared and now you could see the rage in his face. "He's more of a dad to your kids than you are!"

"How dare you!" With force, he pushed her up against the wall of the kitchen, trapping one arm behind her back and the other above her head. The walls of the house shook.

"Chad you're always gone! You choose to go play basketball every day instead of staying home with your family!" Trying to break loose from his grip only caused him to push her harder. She gritted her teeth in pain. " I thought you would want to stay home and play basketball with Matthew or watch how fast Maddie is growing up!"

"That's my career Taylor. You can't ask me to choose between my career and my family." His voice was loud and firm. They have gotten into fights before, but she had never heard his voice shake like this.

"I shouldn't have to! You made the choice, Chad, and you choose basketball." Taylor turned away from her husband and let the tears fall freely to the ground. This was not the man she fell in love with. "Chad I want you to stay at home; to be a father and a husband, like you promised!"

"So what you're running off to Albuquerque to get your friends to solve your problems?" She stopped rubbing the limp arm that he had twisted behind her back and froze.

"How dare you! You arrogant son of a bitch!" Her eyes were dry and the sadness in her heart turned into anger. "Do you expect me to sit around here why you go off and screw other girls and abandon your family?"

The sound of Chad's hand meeting Taylor's face rang throughout the room seconds after it had happened. Staggering from the force, she fell to the floor of the kitchen and broke into sobs. "Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Seeing her wince in pain as she tried pulling herself up from the cold kitchen floor made Chad like the smallest man.

"No." When she finally came to her feet she stopped at the doorway, hoping, praying for an apology. Thinking he would come and sweep her off her feet like he had done so many times before, kiss her and tell her everything would be all right. But instead, he sat there, with his face buried in his hands. For minutes they stood, her back turned towards him, neither one saying a word until an alarm of cries coming from upstairs broke the silence.

"What do you want Taylor?" He coughed out. "A divorce?"

"No Chad. I want my husband back." A sob escaped her lips as she left him sitting in the dark kitchen. As she made her way up the stairs, she heard a shatter of glass onto the floor. In anger, he threw the plate that held the piece of cake onto the floor, which like his heart, shattered into a million pieces.

_Summer dreams ripped at the seams,_

_Bu-ut oh, those su-ummer nights…_


	3. I've Seen Fire

**So I hope you guys weren't expecting their lives to be easy...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.. nothing.. nada

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_I've seen fire and I've seen rain_

_I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end_

_I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend_

_But I always thought that I'd see you again._

_August 24th, two months later_

"Mr. Danforth, do you have anything else you would like to add?" A large, rich looking attorney stared fiercely at Chad, as if his presence to the affair was a hindrance.

"So when can I see my kids?" Chad rubbed his eyes, forcefully, trying to rub the sadness from them.

"Well, due to scheduling conflicts with your upcoming basketball season…" the attorney added, matter-of-factly. "It may not be until the summer."

At the other end of the table, Taylor sat watching her ex-husbands heart being ripped out of his chest. She hadn't meant for the proceedings to be so excruciating for him. In reality, she hadn't meant for the divorce to actually happen. Instead, she prayed every night that he would show up the next morning and beg to have her back. He never did, and now, they sat face-to-face determining the custody of their children. "Holidays," she spoke up. With the exception to a few 'yes and no's,' she had remained rather quiet during the day, afraid that if she would speak, tears would begin to flow. It was too unbearable though for her to hear that he may never get to see Maddie or Matthew.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Mckessie?" The judge seemed annoyed with her interjection.

Being addressed by her maiden name caused her heart to momentarily stop. "Um…" she continued, working up the courage as she spoke, "he can always see them on holidays." From the corner of her eye, she saw Chad smile a weak, yet hopeful smile.

"Your honor," the attorney interrupted. "I don't think it would be best for …"

"No, it would be best." Pushing the large armchair from underneath the table, Taylor stood up and smoothed down her navy skirt. "It would be best for my children to see their father as much as possible." A tear slid down her cheek, which she immediately wiped away before turning towards the door. "If you have everything you need from me," she finished, "good afternoon then."

Taylor ran from the door of the judge's chambers to the bathroom as fast as she could go, pushing past people along the way. Dropping her bags and stack of papers onto the ground, she leaned against the stall of the bathroom and fell to the cold, hard floor. There, in a Los Angeles courthouse, hiding in the bathroom, she cried a tear for every day she felt miserable the last two months. She cried from the failure of her marriage, for her children, and most of all, she cried for Chad, who was being eaten alive by those vicious lawyers. She stayed in the bathroom stall until her eyes were tired and weak, and couldn't shed another tear. Exhausted, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, hoping she could wake up and have this all be one terrible nightmare. Instead, when the cell phone in her purse rang, she woke up only to find herself in that dreaded bathroom.

"Hello?" She sniffed over the phone.

"Taylor, this is Sharpay." Wiping the tears from her eyes, she tried to act cheerful for her friend. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Clearing her throat, she continued, "just having a bad day. What's up?"

"Taylor… it's Gabriella." Taylor heard her friend start to cry over the phone. "How fast can you get here?"

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When Troy tapped on the window of the receptionist's office, he had a bundle of pink roses in his hand and a smile spreading from ear to ear. "Gabriella Bolton, has she already gone in?" The smile was still fixed on his face when he turned the corner towards his examination room.

"Sharpay?" Troy stopped when he saw his friend leaning against the wall. She had her cell phone in one hand and a wad of tissues in the other. "What are you doing here?"

"We went shopping earlier…" she coughed. When Troy came closer, it was obvious that she had been crying. "Then I came with here with her." As strong as Sharpay tried to be in front of her friend, she let a moan escape her lips. "Oh Troy."

Troy was confused and worried when Sharpay wrapped her arms around her neck and cried into his shoulder. "Sharpay? What's wrong? How's Gabriella?"

"You should go in and talk to her." Pulling away, Sharpay's eyes fell on the examining room next to her.

"Sharpay, you're scaring me." He breathed. "Just tell me what's wrong."

Sharpay waited several seconds, taking deep breaths trying to gain enough composure to break the news to him. "Troy… Gabriella lost the baby." Stumbling, Troy leaned against the wall of the hospital for support. Upset and disheveled, Sharpay ran down the hall towards the closest bathroom. When Troy finally opened the door into the room, he found his wife sitting on top of the examining table, legs crossed and staring into space. With one hand leaning on the table for support, the other was rested against her stomach. She had an absent, blank look on her face and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Hey." Troy's voice was hushed, but strong. However, Gabriella didn't turn and acknowledge his presence. Instead, she kept her eyes fixed upon the wall before her. He stood by the door for several minutes, afraid to say anything in fear that he may fall apart.

Finally, she broke the unbearable silence. "Did Sharpay call my mom?"

"Yeah and Taylor." Troy sat down on the table next to her and looked at his beautiful wife. _She doesn't deserve this. _"They're on their way." It was harder for him to keep from crying.

"Troy…" after a long delay, Gabriella finally turned to look towards her husband. "I'm so sorry." He didn't know what to say or do to comfort her. No amount of words could mend her broken heart or bring back their unborn child. Instead, he did the one thing he knew to do.

"Gabriella, I love you." Wrapping his strong around her defeated body, he grabbed onto her tightly and pulled her close. "I love you so much." They sat there, holding onto each other until the doctor came in to prepare her for surgery.

_Won't you look down upon me Jesus _

_You got to help me make a stand_

_You just got to see me through another day_

_My body's achin' and my time is at hand_

_And I won't make it any other day._


	4. Safest Place to Hide

Disclaimer: Newsflash! I own High School Musical! not.

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_And after all this time my heart still burns for you_

_If you don't know by now that you're my only one_

_Then take a look inside me_

_And watch my heartstrings come undone._

**Senior Year**

"Hello?" Groggily, Gabriella reached over and answered her cell phone. "Troy what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he laughed. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm staring at the most beautiful person in the world." His voice was clear and loud, breaking the silence in her bedroom.

"Troy," Sitting up, Gabriella looked at the clock sitting on her nightstand. "It's almost midnight. We've got school in the morning," she hissed.

"I know we've got school, chill." His laughter on the other end of the phone caused her to relax. "Don't you want to know who this beautiful girl is I'm staring at?"

While reaching over to turn on the lamp, she yawned, "not really." Grabbing her glasses she sat on the edge of her bed and looked around her bedroom. "I'd really like to go back to bed though. Tomorrow's the first day of school and…"

"Why don't you turn around and look outside." He interrupted. She threw the covers off of her, climbed out of bed and began walking slowly to her balcony, tip-toeing across her room. In front of her, he was standing outside of her room, cell phone in hand a huge smile spread across his face. "Surprise!"

She unlatched the door and let him in, "what are you doing here?" Even though she tried to act angry and professional, she couldn't help but be glad to see him. "I just saw you a few hours ago."

"I know," Troy leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "I missed you." As she was latching the door to the balcony, he laughed, "you know, I don't think I've ever seen your room in the daylight."

"Yah, and with permission, either." Carefully, she sat down next to him on the edge of her bed. They sat in silence for a few seconds. "So I'm nervous about tomorrow."

"Why? It's senior year!" A huge smile spread across his face and began bouncing up and down on her bed. "We're almost adults! This year, we're going to rule the school!" Gabriella crossed her legs Indian-style and turned to face him on the bed. He finally settled down and looked at her curiously.

When he grabbed her hand, she sighed, "I just can't help it." A lonely tear fell down her face, "I mean this time next year we'll be at college and everyone will have moved away." She looked down at her fingers laced within his. "I mean, what's going to happen to us?"

Troy was taken back by her sudden doubt in their relationship. All summer they had spent dreaming about the rest of their lives, not once doubting that they wouldn't be together. "What do you mean?" He didn't mean to come off angry, just confused, but the hurt look in her face signaled that she took it the wrong way.

"I'm sorry I'm scared, Troy." Gabriella jumped off the bed and walked over to the corner of her room, "What if you go to school one place and I go somewhere else? What if we fall apart?" Sitting down in an armchair, she pulled her knees to her chest. "I mean, it happens. People break up and fall out of love."

"Gabriella," Crawling across the room, he sat at her feet on the floor. "I promise you, that won't happen to us." His voice was more compassionate and sympathetic, but she was still obviously upset.

"You can't promise that Troy." Another tear fell down her face. "You can't read the future."

Sighing, he grabbed onto her hands and looked into her eyes. "I know I can't read the future, but I can tell you one thing, I love you more than anything Gabriella Montez. If you're not in a part of my life in the next four, ten or even fifty years, then I don't want to be alive." A smile broke across her face and she leaned over and kissed him delicately on the lips.

"I love you too." Standing up, she helped him up off the floor and looked into his deep, blue eyes. "Will you stay the night?"

Nodding, he smiled, "under one condition."

"And what's that?" She laughed, pulling him into a kiss.

"Promise me you'll be here in the morning."

Standing on her toes, she whispered in his ear, "without a doubt." She broke away, pulled back the covers and they climbed into bed. Once she was nestled in his arms, the lights were off and the only noise in the room was the ceiling fan, she told the night "I'll love you until the day I die, Troy Bolton. I promise."

_I know I promised you forever _

_Is there no stronger word I can use?_

_To reassure you when the storm is raging outside _

_You're my safest place to hide

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**Present Day**

"Gabriella, what are you doing?" Troy was sitting on the edge of their bed, watching his wife pile clothes into a duffle bag.

"I can't stay here Troy." They had been home from the hospital less than an hour and she was adamant about leaving. "It hurts too much." He watched her walk into the bathroom and begin filling up a cosmetic bag.

"So you're just going to run." His eyes were tired and his head was pounding, "You're just going to leave me."

She walked back to the suitcase and made sure she had everything she needed, "I can't do this Troy."

"Damnit, Gabriella." Standing, he walked over to her and grabbed her hand. She flinched and pulled away, as if his touch was fire against her skin. "We need to work through this together."

"Troy, I can't." Gabriella walked out onto the balcony connected to their master bedroom. From across the yard, she could see her old bedroom. "I can't even look at you."

Troy's knees buckled, but he managed to walk over to her. "Why Gabby? What have I done?"

"Troy, stop it please!" With her back still turned to him, she looked down at her wrist and massaged the spot where the name bracelet had previously hung.

"What Gabriella? Stop What?"

"I lost a child Troy!" When Gabriella turned around, he saw the redness in her eyes and the streams of tears on her face. "Sharpay and Kelsi and Taylor, they didn't miscarry, but I did!"

"Gabriella… that's not…" Troy was still shocked at his wife's sudden outburst.

"It's not my fault," she yelled! "Is that what you were going to say, that it's not my fault!" He just stood there, afraid to say a word. "It is absolutely my fault! Troy, the doctor's said I wasn't a good host… do you know what that means!"

"Gabriella, you can't blame yourself!" This time, when he grabbed her wrists she didn't flinch or pull away.

No longer yelling, her voice was barely audible when she sobbed, " I'm not a good mother… that's what it means!"

Troy didn't know what to say. _Why did she think that? _Shocked, he released the grip on her wrists and watched her walk back into the bedroom. "Listen, we can get through this," He stuttered.

Gabriella walked over and grabbed the bag off of her bed and threw it over her shoulder. "I can't stay here with you. I can't pretend that we're lovey-dovey and everything's perfect, when it's not." As she walked downstairs towards the front door, she put on a pair of big, black sunglasses, hiding the tears that were welling in her eyes. "I can't love you right now, Troy!"

"And why the hell not?" He couldn't yell at her, but he threw his hands up in the air and screamed in agony at the top of his lungs. "Why can't you love me?"

When she turned the handle of the front door and stepped halfway out, she sighed, "because I let you down."

"What do you mean? No you haven't…"

"Troy I lost your son." Behind her, the sun was setting and a warm, autumn evening was about to begin. Gabriella hugged her chest, blocking out the cold from the constant breeze. "I couldn't give you a baby like I promised." Before he could find the words to speak, she had walked to the end of the driveway and turned towards the front door of her old house. His feet were planted in the doorway of their house and he couldn't find the power to get up and run after her. Instead, he crawled up to the top of the steps and slowly walked out onto the balcony.

In the cold night air, he sat against the railing and cried. When he had run out of tears and his body hurt from shaking, he watched her shadow pour out of her bedroom window. He wanted to run over, grab her in her arms and bring her home, but instead, he sat watching her until she turned the lights off and went to bed. "God," he prayed, "please bring her back."

_Can you see me, here I am_

_I need you like I needed you then_

_When I feel like giving up_

_I climb inside your heart and still find_

_You're my safest place to hide

* * *

Okay, so I'm really afraid that I'm going to dissapoint yah'll and make you upset and sad and break down into uncontrollable sobs. Please don't. And please don't get mad and please don't give up. Thank you soo much for the reviews! It's pretty overwhelming!!! I'm trying to make this perfect for you..._

Also, do not ask 'future.mrs.zac.efron' for any thing pertaining to this story. She's got it in her head that someone important is going to die. Geeze, where did she get that from!

On that note, please review!


	5. It's Not Over

_My life with you means everything_

_So I wont give up that easily_

_Can we make this something good?_

_Cause it's all misunderstood_

"Matthew, stand still." Gabriella scolded the fidgeting little boy. With a mouth full of needles, she was sitting on her knees on the floor making final adjustments to his costume. "You want to be a pirate for Halloween, right?"

"Yes ma'am," he sulked, before twitching again.

Taking the rest of the pins out of her mouth, Gabriella pulled back and rested her hands on her knees "I'll tell you what buddy, I can finish it from here. Why don't I get you out of your costume and you can go play." In no time, Matthew was wearing the shirt and shorts he had on earlier and running off to the living room to watch a movie. "Taylor your son is a mess…" carrying the costume and sewing kit into the kitchen, she stopped when she found Taylor sitting at the table crying into a dish cloth. "Honey what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Taylor wiped her eyes and sat up straight in the high-back chair. "Sometimes I just get sad that's all. I miss him so much."

Resting her cheek on her friend's head, Gabriella wrapped her arms around her shoulder and gave her an awkward, but comforting hug. "It's going to be okay, sweetie, I promise." She sat down at the table and began working on the small pirate suit.

"Gabby, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Briefly taking her attention from the task at hand, she turned towards her friend who already had a fresh set of tears forming in her eyes. "Taylor…"

"Was the divorce my fault?" She looked Gabriella firmly, "be honest. I'm tired of people telling me it's not my fault."

Gabriella paused for a long time thinking of what to say. "No, Taylor. Sometimes people think they are meant for each other, but later find out there not." She looked down at her shoes, "like Troy and I."

"What are you talking about?" Astonished, Taylor pushed her chair away from the table and walked toward the kitchen counter. "What do you mean 'Troy and I'?"

"Taylor I don't want to talk about this." Turning her attention back to the sewing, Gabriella bit back tears. "I think I'm going to have to take this home and let my mom work on it."

"Gabriella, don't change the subject." She walked over and sat back down at the table.

"Taylor, please."

"No. I'm tired of you moping around feeling sorry for yourself." It was clear that Taylor's comment hurt Gabriella's feelings.

"You don't understand, Taylor. Let's just drop it." She began folding up the costume and putting her sewing kit back together.

"I don't understand?" Taylor shot back. "What don't I understand, Gabby? That you're upset, that you're hurting. Yeah, I get that." She lowered her voice and tried to remain calm hoping to not upset her friend even more. "But I also understand that it's time to move on."

Tears flooded down Gabriella's cheeks. "Taylor I lost a child."

"Yeah, and I've lost a husband and if you don't watch out, you will too." Taylor finished, "and I'll tell you this, there are a lot of children that need mothers, but you only have one soul mate."

Gabriella dropped the box holding her needles and thread onto the floor and scampered to pick it up, but with little success. Her face was drowning in tears and her anger made it harder to concentrate. "Why are you being so insensitive?"

"I'm not being insensitive Gabby." Joining her friend on the floor, Taylor picked up the rest of the supplies, crammed them in the box and grabbed her friend's hands. "Troy's hurting just as much as you are, and I know you two would get over this a lot easier if yah'll were together."

"Taylor I can't…" Gabriella fell into her friend's arms, weeping.

"Yes you can." Rubbing her back, Taylor felt tears stinging her eyes. "Please, don't make the same mistake I did. Go be with your husband."

* * *

_Homecoming, Senior Year_

"Gabriella," Troy yelled from the backyard of her house. He was throwing pebbles at the glass panes in the door that led out to the balcony. When she finally opened the door to see the cause behind all of the commotion, he yelled, "can I come up?"

She turned around, ignoring him and walked back into her bedroom before falling down onto the bed. Not waiting for her return, or an answer, Troy climbed up the side of the house and stood outside watching her. Music was blaring from her room and she was softly singing out loud.

"Gabriella, are you mad at me?"

"Yes," was all she said. When she didn't get up or stop from singing, he invited himself into her room and sat down on the corner of her bed.

Cautiously, he pressed the issue further. "Why? What did I do?" She was still wearing the evening gown she had on earlier, with the exception of the pair of silver, strappy heels that now resided on the floor.

"Rachel McPherson." She rolled over on her side.

"What are you talking about?" His eyes grew wide and he sat there stunned.

"You mean you weren't sticking your tongue down her throat at the dance?" Still not looking at him, she huffed. "I saw you, Troy. You can't charm your way out of this."

"Gabby…" He was shocked. "I'm so sorry, you weren't supposed to see that."

In a flash, she had jumped of the bed and was now standing with her arms on her hips, glaring at him. Her eyes were red and puffy and her make up smeared. "How dare you!" She yelled over the radio, which had turned from soft peaceful music to a nightly talk show. "I wasn't supposed to see it? What other things have you done that I 'wasn't supposed to see'?"

"I didn't mean it like that." He was still wearing the khaki pants, blue dress shirt and tie from the dance. Except now, the wrinkles he had worked so hard to remove were very obvious and the sleeves were pushed up to his elbows. "It was an accident, a mistake."

"You're damn right it was a mistake, Troy." For the second time that evening, his eyes grew wide with surprise. He had never heard her swear before, better yet; they had never fought like this before. Sure, they had their tiffs over the last year, but nothing like this. "I don't understand how you can 'accidentally' start making out with someone."

He stuttered, looking for an excuse. "We were caught in the moment. I mean, she won queen and I was king and…"

"Get out!" Gabriella pushed past him and swung the doors to her balcony open. Pointing to the dark night, she yelled again "get out of my room, Troy!"

"I'm sorry, Gabriella. Please, let's just talk." Balls of sweat began dripping down his face and he was starting to become very nervous.

"No, I don't want to talk to you." Still yelling, she concluded, "as far as I care, I never want to talk to you again." The way he walked out onto the balcony looked like a dog with his tail between his legs. "Why don't you go find Rachel McPherson and see if you can 'accidentally' have sex with her." She turned inside and slammed the door to her room before he could swing one leg over the banister.

Several hours later, Gabriella was laying in bed listening to the same person give out advice about a husband who was having an affair. She wasn't really paying attention, however, but instead she was playing over the night's events in her head. Every time she pictured him leaning up against the corner of the gymnasium with his mouth covering that other girls face she felt like throwing up. At 3:00 in the morning, she deemed sleep impossible, turned the lights on in her bedroom and began rummaging through the bookcase for something to read. Settling on last year's yearbook, she climbed back into bed and began flipping through the memories of her junior year. When she got to the pictures from the winter and spring musicals, and was reading the autographs her eyes fell on Troy's sloppy handwriting. As she read over the message he had left not even six months prior, her heart began to melt.

_Gabriella, I didn't know one person could change your life so much. Thank you for being a part of my life. I can't wait for the summer to start and senior year. Love, Troy._

It did not take her long to make up her mind about what to do next. Dropping the yearbook on the floor, she ran into her closet, pulled on a sweatshirt and stepped into a pair of tennis shoes, not even bothering to tie them. Not even thinking to grab a house key, she ran down the steps and out the front door of her house. Before she could get down the sidewalk to her car, however, she tripped over a large lump in the driveway and fell on the ground.

"Oh my God!" She screamed, jolting up and running away from the mass that was now moaning and rolling around on the ground.

"Gabriella," it moaned. Before she could question the person's identification, a noticeable figure was on his feet and facing her in the dark.

"Troy," she squealed. "What are you doing here?"

Breathing heavily, he mumbled, "protecting you."

"What?" Her voice was still high pitched and startled.

"I'm here to protect you."

She watched his face drop and smiled. "Troy, what are you protecting me from?" Her voice returned to normal and she inched towards him. "The boogie man?"

"Well yeah," Even though it was pitch black outside, she still could tell he was blushing. "And Dracula, too." He felt her cup his chin and push it upward.

"Do your parents know you're here?" She was so close to him, she could hear him take deep breaths in and out.

"Yeah of course." He took a deep breath. "I told them I was spending the night because your mom was out of town, but when you told me to leave…"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I couldn't leave you here by yourself. So I went home and grabbed my sleeping bag."

Every bad feeling she had before was completely erased. Her heart swelled, "you've been out here sleeping. Troy it's freezing."

"You're telling me." She saw his face drop again, "look Gabriella I just wanted to make sure you're okay. So I guess I can go." Before he could turn around her lips were planted firmly against his, kissing him passionately.

When they broke apart and caught their breath, she whispered, "I'm sorry I got mad at you. I should trust you enough to know that you aren't running around on me."

"No, Gabriella. I'm the one that should be sorry. I don't know what happened, one minute we were congratulating each other and then the next she was kissing me." He reached over and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers within hers. "I'm so sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Well for starters," she laughed, "you can come inside and warm up."

"I can do that."

"I'm not done yet." Leaning close to him, she whispered ever so softly into his ear, "and I think you should stay."

Shivering, he whispered back. "I can do that." As she turned to go inside, he stopped her. "Gabriella…"

"Yeah?"

"Can you ever forgive me?" He chewed on his bottom lip and looked at her sadly. His tired, blue eyes revealed how truly sorry he was. She smiled passionately and let several happy tears dance on the top of her cheeks.

"I already have."

_Well I'll try to do it right this time around_

_Let's start over_

_Try to do it right this time around_

_It's not over_

_Cause a part of me is dead and in the ground_

_This love is killin' me_

_But you're the only one_

_It's not over_


	6. I Do It For You

_**this whole chapter is present day**

* * *

_

_Don't tell me it's not worth trying for_

_You can't tell me it's not worth dying for._

_Everything I do, I do it for you._

As soon as the 3:00 bell rang on Wednesday afternoon, Gabriella dashed out to her car and left the parking lot in a hurry. Her overnight belongings were already in the backseat and she was on her way to stay the weekend with Zeke and Sharpay. After her confrontation with Taylor, she felt even guiltier about leaving Troy. It didn't help, either, that it was the week of homecoming and the memories of their senior year continued to haunt her. During lunch, she had walked into Troy's office and told him where she was going. He smiled a sad, broken smile and went back to work.

On Friday morning, Gabriella lazily walked into the Baylor's kitchen, sat down at the butcher-block island and fixed a cup of coffee. When Sharpay walked into the room, it seemed like a firecracker had gone off. She was dressed in a sleek, pink velour running suit, with a Louis Vutton bag over her shoulder and a pair of big, white sunglasses on top of her head.

"Gabriella, what are you doing?" She frowned when she saw her guest still in her pajamas. "We're supposed to have another shopping day."

"Sharpay, aren't you shopped out?" Laughing, Gabriella hopped off the stool and walked over to a basket full of muffins from Zeke's bakery. "I was hoping we could do something today that wouldn't require me spending all of my money." When she took a bite into the muffin, flakes of blueberries and cake crumbs spewed all over the counter.

"I don't know what else there is to do around here than shop," Sharpay sighed. "What would you be doing at home right now?" Gabriella stopped chewing and thoughtfully considered Sharpay's question. It was homecoming Friday and the halls of East High would be bursting with excitement. Everyone would be pumped up and ready for the big game; everyone except for Troy. He is supposed to crown the king and queen later on tonight at the dance. Gabriella smiled when she thought of Troy getting dressed up and being the star of the show. However, her smile soon disappeared when she imagined him standing in their bedroom, unable to fix his tie or smooth his dress shirt. A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye.

"Sharpay, I'm a mess." Using the sleeve of her bathrobe to dry her eyes, Gabriella looked at her friend.

"No kidding. You know you're supposed to eat the muffins, not throw it all over the floor." Sharpay laughed until she noticed the gloomy look on her friends face. Resting both hands on her swollen stomach, she asked, "Gabriella, what's the matter?"

"You know what Sharpay," After taking a final bite out of the muffin, Gabriella threw the wrapper into the trashcan and poured the remaining drops of her coffee down the drain. She wiped her hand on a nearby dishtowel before grabbing one of Sharpay's delicate hands. "I do want to spend money today. Lots of it."

"Ooh goody! On what?"

"I need your help," for the first time in weeks, a huge smile spread across her face, "tonight I'm going to the homecoming dance." It took a second for Sharpay to realize what Gabriella had said, but soon enough both girls were jumping up and down, wrapped in a hug and screaming at the top of their lungs.

_I would give it, I would sacrifice_

_Don't tell me it's not worth fighting for_

_I can't help it, there's nothing I want more_

_You know it's true, everything I do, I do it for you

* * *

_

Troy's forehead was resting against the top of the black baby grand piano in the living room of his house. His back was hunched over the keys and one arm covered his eyes while the other tapped randomly at the ivory keys. Several pieces of sheet music covered in spill stains and eraser shavings set in disarray next to his face. When he heard keys jingle and the door swing open he bolted up and wiped his face with his hands. Coming from the hallway, he saw a light turn on and heard heels click across the hardwood floors.

"Troy?" As she walked in front of the room with the piano, she stopped in her tracks when she saw him sitting there; his blue eyes were wide with surprise. "Troy, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the homecoming dance." She stood in the doorway across from him.

"I told them I couldn't go… why? Did you go?" He got up from the piano bench and took two steps closer to her. He let his eyes go up and down her body, making sure she wasn't a ghost or hallucination.

"Yeah, I went looking for you." Building enough courage to walk across the room and join him at the piano, her heart broke when she saw the sad condition he was in. Wearing a pair of workout pants and a sweatshirt, he was skinny and sick looking with bags under his eyes. "Why didn't you go?" She asked while pulling off her long, black over coat.

He paused before answering her, taken aback from what was hidden beneath the jacket. She had on a long sleeve, sparkling red dress that was tightly hugging every curve of her body and fell just above her knee. Her long, skinny legs and the matching red stilettos was enough of a tease to make anyone sweat. "I don't really like homecoming… not without you." He confessed, bringing his eyes up to her face. She looked absolutely outstanding, wearing just a little bit of eye shadow and lipstick. Her cheeks were red from blushing. "You cut your hair?"

"Yeah… do you hate it?" Bringing her hand up to her shortened lock, she made a bouncing action with her palm and then shook her head gently. The hair that once fell to the middle of her back now stopped at her shoulders and was pin straight. There were no curls or waves, just short, straight strands of dark hair.

"No, I love it." Nervously, he followed by reaching up and touching the bottom of her hair. Only inches apart, they stood there for while, looking into each other's eyes and reading their minds. "Gabby…" He sighed, turned away from her and faced the wall.

She reached out and grabbed his wrists and pulled him back. "Troy, please, just let listen." Her soft eyes warmed his cold, hard heart. "Please…"

Nodding, he walked over to the piano bench and sat down. Waiting for her to speak, he softly asked, "How are you?"

"Terrible." She admitted. _Time for honesty._ Her open answer took Troy by surprise, but he didn't interrupt. "I'm doing just awful. Leaving you was the worst thing to do. Instead of working with you through this, I spent the last month crying into a pillow every night and becoming a nervous wreck."

"Gabriella…" Before he could finish his comment, she placed one finger over his mouth signaling him to be quiet.

"Just let me finish," She smiled softly at him. "I lost a baby Troy and it's so hard to get up every morning and move on with that, especially when my best friends are the perfect mothers and have the perfect families." Bending down on her knees, she was eye level to him. She grabbed both of his hands with her and kissed them softly, "Troy I can deal with loosing a baby, but not my husband. Not my soul- mate."

His sat on the bench for what felt like an eternity to Gabriella, looking into her dark brown eyes, recalling all of the hurt he had experienced in the last month. "You didn't loose me," he whispered. "No matter what, Gabriella, you could never loose me." Pushing the stool out from behind him, he stood up and lifted her off the ground.

"We can do this together, I promise." As the embraced in a hug, a huge smile spread across both of their faces. "I love you so much it hurts, Troy Bolton."

"You have no idea, Gabby. Really no idea." When they pulled apart, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "Are you home for good now?" Their noses were still touching and she was breathing heavily.

"Unless you come with me, I'm not going anywhere."

He kissed her again, this time longer and passionately. "Well will you come with me now?" His famous Bolton smile made Gabriella go weak.

"Where are we going?" Getting ready to grab her jacket from the piano, she smiled innocently.

"Somewhere that you wont need a jacket," he pulled the jacket from her eyes and tossed it on the bench before planting a soft kiss on her lips. "Or that red dress," he left a trail of kisses from her nose all the way down to the small of her neck. "You won't need the shoes," Going behind her, he saw where the dress fell to the very end of her back and grinned. She began kicking the shoes off of her feet. "Or even the earrings," While kissing behind her ear, he gently took off the pair of earrings, and sat them on top of the stack of music.

"Troy…" She moaned, "Can you ever forgive me?"

He twirled her around and looked at her with love and compassion, "I already have." She jumped up and kissed him hard on the lips, while he lifted her in the air and began carrying her upstairs. Before they even made it to the top they laughed at the red dress that was now thrown across the railing of the stairs.

_There's no love like your love_

_And no other could give more love_

_There's no where unless you're there_

_All the time, all the way

* * *

_

The next morning, Gabriella woke up in Troy's arms with the sun peering into her bedroom and a fresh start ahead of her. Carefully, she pulled out of his arms, threw on a bathrobe and walked downstairs; laughing once again when she saw the dress she wore the night before hanging off the banister. She considered collecting the clothing items, but thought Troy would find it a good reminder to wake up to. Braving the cold, she walked outside to her car and began unloading suitcases and shopping bags from the backseat. One present in particular was left in the trunk of her car for her husband to find later. Unloading took several trips back and forth and by the time she was finished, Troy was already standing in the kitchen intently watching the coffee pot brew a fresh pot of coffee.

"You know what they say," she laughed. "A watched pot never boils." He leaned down and kissed her very romantically.

"Well, I'm tired." He gleamed, "you kept me up late last night." Gabriella blushed and turned towards the refrigerator.

Disgusted she slammed the door and looked at him, "we are definitely going grocery shopping today." Before he could protest, she was sure to include "and you're coming with me."

"What? You can't live off of pizza and beer?" She just shook her head and settled on a poptart she managed to find in the pantry. They sat at the kitchen table for breakfast, catching up and occasionally sharing kisses.

"So I have something for you." While she was fixing them both a final cup of coffee, he scraped the crumbs off of a plate in the trash can and set it in the sink.

"Oh yeah?" Once again, he joked, "is it better than last night?" The way he wiggled his eyes and flashed his catchy grin made Gabriella squeal unintentionally. He loved making her blush more than anything.

"Slow down tiger," he pretended to make a hurt, pouty look on his face. "You're gift is in the living room." Slowly, he made his way into the next room afraid of what he was going to find. While he searched, she leaned against the doorway and waited for his reaction. On the couch, a beautiful acoustic guitar sat, shinny and new.

"Gabs is this it?" He eyed the precious gift, unsure whether to reach out and grab it or just stare at it.

"Well I definetly don't play a musical instrument." She came to his side, picked up the guitar and handed it to him. It took him a second to get over the akwardness of holding it in his arms, but soon he was used to its' simple frame. "There is one stipulation, though."

"Okay." He sat down on the couch with her and stretched his legs out onto the coffee table. "Anything..."

"Well, I want you to learn how to play by Christmas."

"I can do that." He leaned over and kissed her on the lips, still holding onto the guitar. When they pulled away, he began strumming innocently against the strings.

"So I'm going to go take a shower and get ready to go shopping while you sit down here and play with your new toy." When she was halfway off the couch, he pulled her on top of him and began tickling her.

"Thank you so much. I love it."

"I love you too."

"I can play with the guitar later," he watched her catch her breath from laughing. "But I can't miss taking a shower with you." In a flash, she bolted up the stairs screaming and he soon ran after her.

They spent the rest of the afternoon going grocery shopping, unpacking Gabriella's things and playing with the guitar. By dinner time, Troy had really picked up on several of the chords and Gabriella would have not wanted to listen to anything else while she cooked dinner. After dinner, they took a long walk around the neighborhood, went for a cup of coffee and curled up under a blanket on the back porch and rocked back and forth in the swing, talking and staring at the stars. When Gabriella crawled in bed and snuggled against her husband, he was reading a sports magazine and quietly humming a tune.

"You know what I think?" She rested her head on his chest and looked down at the foot of the bed.

"What do you think, Mrs. Bolton?"

"I think I'm going to be okay. I have the best husband in the world."

"Well do you know what I think?" He asked, lifting her chin so he could look in her eyes. A couple of beaded tears were at the top of her cheek, but he quickly wiped them away.

"What do you think Troy?"

"I think that we can move mountains."

She climbed up to the top of the bed and kissed him on the cheek. "I think I love you Troy Bolton."

"Yeah, well, I know I love you Gabriella. I love you more than anything else in this world."

_Yeah, I would fight for you; I'd lie for you_

_Walk the wire for you, Yeah I'd die for you_

_You know it's true_

_Everything I do, I do it for you.

* * *

_

**AN:_ Ok, Yah'll. I hope you enjoyed it! That was a really hard chapter to write-- I wanted it to be perfect for you guys! Especially since your reviews are perfect and they really make my day. Also, I made sure it was pretty long to satisfy you. I'm going out of town until Tuesday and so you won't get any updates until then. But I promise, I swear, that you'll get four brand spankin' new chapters by Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning. _**

**_Also, I hope the time changes aren't confusing. I'll be sure to designate if it's a flashback to Sr. year or present day. Sound good?? If you can think of another way to differeniate them, let me know._**

**_Special thanks to BostonSk8r ( I cant remember your new name now). Your reviews were very helpful and inspiring!!!_**

**_Get ready for a couple of sweet, oohey gooey chapters and then one horrendous one! I hope you have a box of tissues ready!_**

**_Lots of love_**


	7. The Nights We Felt Alive

Okay guys, here are the first two chapters of the four I promised you! Thanks for the reviews (even though I expected a few more) but just one would make me happy! Read and enjoy, and as always push that friendly purple button!

_

* * *

_

_Here's to the nights we felt alive _

_Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry_

_Here's to goodbye_

_Tomorrow's gonna come too soon_

**Halloween, Senior Year**

"Troy, I'm not sure about this." Gabriella nervously chewed on her thumb, "I don't really like Haunted Houses." They were standing in the parking lot of a huge Halloween attraction with Taylor and Chad. Swarms of teenagers were running ahead to the entrance of the park.

"Come on Gabs," Troy smirked. "It will be fun. And if you get too scared, I might let you hold my hand." He laughed out loud until he noticed the serious look on her face. He reached down and grabbed her unoccupied hand. "Hey guys, why don't you run ahead and we'll catch up to you?"

Taylor looked over at Gabriella, "are you sure? We can go do something else." Chad was already running towards the giant blown up Clown that marked the ticket booth. Gabriella continued to looked uneasily at the haunted house. It didn't help calm her nerves when shrills of screams could be heard coming from inside.

"We'll be right there, Taylor. I promise." Troy urged the couple to go on without them. Once they were out of earshot and far away, he turned towards his girlfriend. "So what's up?"

She pulled her fingernail out of her mouth and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jean jacket. "I just don't like these kinds of things."

"Can you keep a secret?" He asked mischievously. Turning towards the bed of his truck, he let the hatch down and hoped on. Patting the space next to her, inviting her on he whispered "I really can't stand haunted houses. This has always been Chad's thing. I hate being scared on purpose." When she hopped up on the back she began swinging her legs back and forth and inching closer to him.

"So the wildcat superstar _is_ afraid of something!" They both laughed, blocking out the distant screams of the frightened teens.

"You know what I do like, though?" Gabriella had her head resting on her shoulder and looked up when he spoke. "I may not like to be scared, but I _love_ scaring people."

She looked at him with her brown eyes sparkling "Troy Bolton, I have a fantastic idea!"

Forty-five minutes later, Taylor and Chad walked up the hill toward Troy's truck, talking in hushed voices.

"Wonder where they went?" Taylor asked, pulling Chad's letter jacket closer around her chest.

"I don't know. Did you see them inside?" Uneasily, Chad walked around to the back of the truck.

"Nope. Maybe they went to the snack bar?" The hatch of Troy's truck was still down from earlier, practically inviting the couple to sit down. "Well what do you want to do while we wait?"

Chad grinned, "I have an idea." Five minutes into a steamy make-out session, the truck alarm went off, blaring in the parking lot and flashing lights. Surprised, the couple flew off the back of the truck and jumped away. "What the hell?" Out of breath, Chad began to look around the car for any sign of Troy and Gabriella.

"Did you do that?" Taylor asked, sending him a threatening glare.

"No! I was definitely enjoying what we were doing!" As Chad threw his hands up in the air defensively, the alarm shut off and the parking lot fell silent. Cars were leaving and the lights from the park shut off, leaving the couple suddenly aware of how alone they were. "So do you have a spare key?"

"Chad! Why would I have a key to Troy's car?"

"I don't know, I just thought…" Before he could finish, the engine to the truck revved and began running. Lights were flashing and the radio was blaring. Taylor ran and clinged onto Chad's side.

"Chad…" Taylor screamed. "Let's go back to the front of the park!" Without thinking twice, he began leading her towards the now deflated blown up clown. Before they took another step, however, the car fell silent and the engine turned-off. "Come on," Taylor urged.

Chad didn't listen though, and instead "shed" Taylor and walked towards the hood of the car. He was still holding her hand when he stopped and looked at the front windshield. _Help Me!_ Was written across the moisture coming off the car. Taylor tightened her grip on Chad's hand and he turned his head towards the side.

"Come on Chad…"

"BOOOOO!" Troy and Gabriella popped up from the front seat of the car screaming at the top of their lungs. The surprise sent Chad running through the parking lot, screaming like a little girl. The couple fell out of the car laughing at both of their friends. Taylor was wide eyed and pale faced, and Chad was still running around.

"Yah'll almost gave us a heart attack!" Taylor squealed. She was trying to catch her breath and her boyfriend at the same time.

Gabriella stuck her tongue out at her friend, "well it was totally worth it. You should have seen the look on your face!"

"Yeah. It looked like the one on Chad's!" Troy doubled over laughing from watching Chad stomp up the hill back to the car.

"Dude." He huffed. "That. Was. Not." Catching his breath, Chad scolded Troy. "Cool!" Taylor couldn't even resist laughing at her bushy haired, out-of-breath, chicken of a boyfriend.

"I think it was cool. Don't you Gabriella?" The duo high-fived, and continued laughing at their friends. "Chad you're out of shape man!"

Chad put his arms on his hips and gave Troy a death glare. "That's totally not fair. You two stayed out and played kissy face while we went inside that!" He pointed towards the vacant haunted house.

"Alright, babe, give it up. They got us!" Taylor linked arms with her boyfriend, trying to console him. He was still huffing and puffing, and had a very sour look on his face.

"Not until they say sorry!"

Gabriella ran up to him and gave him a big hug and giggled while saying "I'm sorry Chad!".

"Now what do you say we go and see what kind of candy my sister got?" Taylor asked. Her boyfriends sullen attitude quickly disappeared and he perked up, jumping inside the backseat of the car. She followed and squeezed in next to him.

"Happy Halloween babe!" Troy leaned down and kissed Gabriella gently on the lips.

"Here they go again!" Chad moaned from the backseat, causing everyone to laugh out loud as they drove out of the parking lot.

* * *

**Present Day**

Eight friends sat around the huge oak dining room table at Taylor's house, stuffing their faces with pizza and cupcakes. Orange and black paper plates and coke cans were scattered around a mess of empty pizza boxes and cupcake wrappers. Everyone was laughing and talking amongst themselves, mostly poking fun at each other's costumes. Sharpay was dressed as a very pregnant, pink Fairy complete with wings and a crown, while Zeke was a "dead chef." He had artificial blood painted all over a white chef's coat. Jason and Kelsi were from the _Phantom of the Opera_ in extravagant ball gowns and capes. After much debate, Troy and Gabriella had decided on Fred and Wilma Flintstone, which had taken Gabriella hours sewing both their costumes, as well as Maddie and Matthew's.

"Taylor what's your costume?" Zeke asked before taking a bite of a chocolate cupcake covered in orange frosting. He had specially made the cupcakes for his bakery and they were selling like crazy.

"Can't you tell, Zeke? I'm an exhausted, bitter housewife." Taylor smirked. The group didn't really know how to respond to her comment, so they laughed awkwardly. "Lighten up you guysl. I'm not that bitter."

"We just don't want to hurt your feelings," Kelsi spoke for the group. "I mean we would hate to make you upset."

Taylor sighed, setting down the stack of paper plates she had in her hand. "Guys I'm okay. Really. Now let's just enjoy the evening." As if on cue, Troy and Gabriella walked into the dinning room, children in hand, ready to go trick-or-treating.

"Pebbles Flintstone and Captain Jack Sparrow at your service!" Everyone oohed and awed over the children's costumes. Madeline had on a leopard print dress, matching the one the famous Flintstone child wore in the cartoon. Taylor had spent an hour trying to get the bone hair pin to stay in place on top of the little girls head. Matthew's costume was everyone's favorite. From head to toe, he looked like a miniature version of the Johnny Depp character. Everything from the beaded dread locks to the massive floppy pirates hat fit perfectly.

"I think someone's ready to go search for treasure!" Taylor bent down and picked up her little boy.

"Can we go get candy now, mommy? Please!" He smiled, showing a set of baby pearly whites.

"Absolutely. Just give me a second to get my jacket and your candy bags." Taylor walked out of the room leaving the guests to dote on her children. When the doorbell rang, it went unnoticed as everyone assumed it was the first round of trick-or-treaters. Gabriella grabbed two stuffed bags of candy off a platter and handed them to Matthew.

"Do you want to give out the candy?" She asked. He nodded his head excitedly and practically ran to the front door. "Alright, wait until they say trick-or-treat, Okay."

As soon as the front door swung open, the little boy screamed "Daddy!" The bags of candy Matthew was holding fell to the floor and spilled everywhere. Chad Danforth picked up his pirate son and swung him in the air.

"Yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me!" He sang. The pirate hat fell to the floor, but Matthew was too busy paying attention to his father.

"Chad?" Gabriella was stunned at the stranger in the doorway. She didn't know whether to embrace him in a huge or push him outside before Taylor could see.

"Gabriella! You look twice as hot as Wilma." Chad flashed his famous smile and turned towards the rest of the group that was now huddling around the doorway. "Guys yah'll look like you need to join the circus!" While everyone was exchanging hellos and catching up, Taylor appeared in the foyer, facing her ex-husband.

"Taylor," he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. They stood, staring at each other for several minutes. The rest of the group disbanded and walked back into the dinning room. "You look great."

She blushed, "thanks." Finally finding words, she asked him "what are you doing here?" Chad was still holding onto Matthew who was smiling from ear to ear.

"I came to go trick-or-treating. It's my favorite holiday next to Christmas." Chad's comment caused Taylor to laugh accidentally. "Is that Okay?" The awkwardness quickly returned between the pair.

Taylor bent down and picked up Matthew's forgotten hat. She walked over and sat it on top of his head and said, "well come inside then. We were about to go out." She smiled and welcomed inside her home, closing the door behind him. "Do you want a costume? I'm sure we could find one. Come get some pizza…" Her voice trailed off as she walked into the kitchen with Chad following closely behind.

Two hours later, Taylor and Chad walked into the house with Troy and Gabriella at their heels. Chad was holding two large plastic bags of candy with one hand and Matthew with the other.

"I'm going to go put Maddie down," Gabriella and Troy excused themselves into the little girls nursery. Matthew ran into the living room and poured a bag of candy all over the floor.

"Hey little man, why don't we sort the candy later?" Noticing Taylor's anxious look on her face, Chad rushed over and began putting the candy back into the bag.

"Can we watch a movie, daddy, please?" Matthew stuck his lip out again trying to persuade his father. Chad looked over at Taylor who was shaking her head no.

"Sure thing. Go pick something out." The little pirate ran off into the playroom to find a movie. Taylor was about to argue with Chad's decision until Troy and Gabriella returned to the living room.

"So we're going to head out," Troy said. Gabriella's hand was laced with his and they had a dazed look on their faces. Taylor nodded, boiling with anger.

"Have fun you two." Chad grinned back at them and waved as they walked out the door.

"Chad!" Taylor screamed furiously, but quickly lowered her voice remembering their sleeping child. "He'll be up all night! No, he is not going to watch scary movie!"

"Come on, Tay." Chad pleaded. "I promise I'll stay up with him then." Taylor quickly softened her demeanor and looked at his pleading face. He hadn't seen Matthew in over a month and knew it would be Christmas until he saw him again.

She sighed, "alright." Chad smiled. "Just remember, you're staying up with him." Matthew ran back in the room carrying a Ghostbusters DVD in his little hand.

"Daddy, can we watch this?"

"Sure thing, buddy. Just kiss your mommy good night and then we'll get you out of your costume, okay!" Chad watched as Taylor let a smile spread across her face.

"Daddy I want to sleep in my costume tonight!"

Chad looked over at Taylor and waited for another argument to break loose. Instead, she smiled softly and said "just wash the dirt off your face. And don't eat too much candy, okay?" The boys turned around to the video and began getting everything ready for their movie night as Taylor walked to the doorway leading to her bedroom. Turning around, she watched Chad clean the paint off of Matthew's face and pop the movie in the DVD player. Her heart swelled as she wished things would always be like this.

When Taylor walked into the living room the next morning she found Chad and Matthew sound asleep on the couch, with a blue light shining from the television. She walked over and picked up her little boy, who was now wearing a set of Spiderman pajamas instead of his Halloween costume. Carefully, she carried him down the hall into his bedroom. Once she was back in the kitchen, she found Chad staring frustrated at the coffee pot.

"When did you get a new coffee pot?" He scoffed. Tightening the strings on her bathrobe, she walked over to him and pushed him out of the way.

"Since you kept the other one." The comment left Chad with a hurt look on his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Soon, the pot was dripping black coffee and Chad was practically drooling. Taylor was satisfied munching on an apple and drinking a glass of orange juice. "Do you have a phone book? I need to call a cab."

She looked up at him, "we can take you to the airport. I'm sure Matthew would love that. When do you have to leave."

"Um… my flights at seven." She simply nodded before getting up and walking towards the trash can to throw away the core from her apple. When she turned around, she accidentally bumped into him, practically falling into his arms.

"Sorry." She mumbled, embarrassed. Neither moved though, but instead she looked up and stared deeply into his eyes searching for answers. "Chad, why did you come home last night?" Her voice was soft and quiet.

He looked down at her, watching as tears began to burn her eyelids. "Because."

"Because?" She asked angrily, prying away from his grip. "What kind of answer is that?" He crept up behind her and delicately placed one hand on her shoulder. She turned back at him.

When his face was inches away from hers, he whispered "Because I missed you Taylor."

"I can't do this Chad," She looked away from him, but didn't pull away.

"Do what?"

"Want you." When her eyes met his, she felt one single tear fall down her cheek. Instead of wiping it away with his hand, Chad kissed it softly with his lips.

In her ear, he whispered "I want you." Soon, his lips met hers and they stood in the middle of the kitchen, forgetting about the pair of broken hearts they shared.

_Put your name on the line _

_Along with place and time_

_Wanna stay not to go_

_I wanna ditch the logical._

_Here's a toast to all those who hear me all too well. _


	8. Love Em' Anyway

I hope yah'll dont hate me.. I promise you the next chapter will be really sweet and cheesy and you'll love it. Just hold on.

Also, I need some song suggestions? Any ideas!!

Review lots and you might get two more chapters before the nights over!_

* * *

_

You can spend your whole life building something from nothing

_One storm can come and blow it all away_

_Build it anyway_

Present Day

"Taylor," Gabriella sighed while standing at the front door of her house staring at her friend. "I still don't think this is a good idea." Taylor was packed and on her way to meet Chad at the airport for a weekend together in Atlanta.

"I know that Gabs, but I want to find out for myself." Taylor began digging through a huge quilted tote bag. Before Gabriella could protest, she began delivering instructions for the weekend. "Now Matthew can have chocolate milk or white milk for dinner…" The brunette really wasn't paying attention, however, knowing that Taylor had detailed written instructions tucked away in the corner of the bag.

"We've babysat for your kids before, I think Troy and I know what we're doing." Taylor began hugging and kissing on Matthew and Maddie while promising to bring them lots of presents.

"Mommy will daddy come home with you?" Matthew's big green eyes looked curiously up at his mother. He had on a pair of blue jeans and a navy blue Gap sweatshirt with a set of black kiddie converse high tops. Maddie was dressed the same, except her shoes and sweatshirt were pink.

"We'll see sweetie," Taylor bent over and gave him one last kiss on the cheek before turning towards her friend. "Look, Gabby. I know you think this is a bad idea, but I need to make my own decisions. I'm a big girl now."

Gabriella frowned, "Taylor, the last time you made your own decisions your heart was broken. I don't want that to happen again." Putting on a pair of sunglasses, Taylor turned around and gave her an awkward, half-way hug.

"I'll see you Sunday night, Okay?" Gabriella nodded in defeat and watched her walk to her car and drive away. When she turned around to shut the door, Matthew was standing there with tears streaming down his face.

"Matthew what's wrong?" Trying to console the little boy, she set Maddie in her playpen in the living room and picked up Matthew before sitting down on the couch with him.

"I miss my mommy." As he sobbed into her shoulder, Gabriella rubbed his shoulder gently.

"I know sweetie, I know."

_You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach_

_And you know it might not ever come your way_

_Dream it anyway_

_God is Great, but sometimes life ain't good_

_When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should_

_But I do it anyway_

_I do it anyway

* * *

_

**Senior Year**

Gabriella was laying on her stomach on the floor of her bedroom. Chemistry books were scattered around her in a circle, as well as a huge pad of ruled paper, several pencils and neon highlighters. Her legs were crossed in the air and she was softly humming a tune to herself. When Taylor's cell phone began to ring, she snapped out of the trance and watched her friend answer with anticipation. The conversation was short and quick only consisting of a few 'yes' and 'no's.'

"Where are you going?" As she watched Taylor pull over her hooded sweatshirt and begin to tie her tennis shoes, Gabriella was a little disappointed their study session had ended so abruptly. "Is something wrong?"

"Every thing's great," Taylor smiled, now staring into Gabriella's mirror fixing her make-up. "Chad got out of practice early."

Confused, Gabriella sat up and stared at her friend. "So?"

"So, that means we're going to his house. His parents are out for the night."

"Taylor what about our study session?" Sitting on her heels, jealousy of Taylor's devotion to Chad suddenly overcame her friendship. "Taylor you can't just blow me off."

"I'm not blowing you off." Now gliding a stick of soft pink lip stick over her lips, Taylor turned around to acknowledge her bitter friend. "You understand don't you? We've been waiting for this opportunity for months now."

"What opportunity?" Ignoring her cell phone vibrating, obviously a text from Troy, she focused on her friend. "Why are you trying so hard?"

Taylor fell down on her knees and crawled over to Gabriella, who had now completely forgotten about her study circle. "This is it, Gabs. I'm finally ready." Gabriella's eyebrows wrinkled and her jaw dropped. She felt like vomiting after realizing what her friend had just admitted to.

"Taylor, no!" She jumped up and ran over to the balcony door, as if she could keep Taylor locked inside.

"Gabs, move. I'm going to be late."

"For what? Your mid afternoon screw?" She hated saying the words just as much as Taylor hated hearing them. "Taylor don't do this."

"Why not?" Defensively, Taylor sassed back at her frustrated best friend. "You're just jealous that Troy won't have sex with you."

Gabriella took a deep breath, trying to control her anger from exploding. Her stomach was turning and she couldn't find a way to keep Taylor to stay. "That's not it and you know it. I just don't want to see you getting hurt."

"I wont get hurt, Gabriella. Now move." Forcefully, Taylor pushed past her and ran out onto the balcony. She had her purse thrown over her shoulder and was chewing on a wad of gum. "Bring my books to me tomorrow at church, will you?"

"You can never get this back, Taylor. What if you get pregnant?" For a second, she thought Taylor was going to turn around, come back inside and resume her studying. But instead, she swung one foot over the banister shortly followed by the other.

"I have one mother. I don't need another one, thanks." Before she knew it, Taylor was running through Gabriella's backyard to the parked car in the street. Sighing, she turned around and picked up her cell phone to read Troy's text from earlier. _Don't let her do it, _was all it read.

Hours later, Gabriella rolled over in bed and faced her balcony where she found Taylor standing there. Even though her room was pitch black, she could still recognize Taylor's short stature and curvy frame.

"Tay, what are you doing here?" Rubbing her eyes, Gabriella yawned before sitting up in bed and turning the light on in the nightstand. Now that the room lit up Taylor and her surroundings, she could really examine her friends appearance. Taylor had on the same outfit she wore earlier, except now her sweatshirt was tied around her waist, leaving her standing there in a wrinkled pair of blue jeans and a white camisole. Her tennis shoes were halfway tied and her hair was in a messy ponytail. Bleeding mascara covered her cheeks and while she stood there a sob escaped her lips.

"I did it Gabriella." Upon hearing her speak, Gabriella hoped out of bed and rushed to Taylor's side. Softly, she closed the door to the balcony and pushed her friend into her bedroom. "We did it, in his bedroom, next door to where his parents sleep." Taylor collapsed onto the bed and tears began to fall like raindrops down her face.

"Oh sweetie," Even though she was still half asleep, Gabriella rummaged around to find a box of tissues and handed it to her. "I'm so sorry."

"It was awful. It wasn't at all like I expected." A mixture of a hiccup and a sob interrupted her thoughts, "and then we just sat there and stared at each other." Taylor rested her head on Gabriella's shoulder.

"Shhh. It will be okay." She soothed her broken friend. "Yah'll didn't break up did you?"

Taylor shook her head 'no.' "I couldn't even look at him. I was so embarrassed." More tears began to fall down her face. "I feel so dirty."

"Go take a shower. I can loan you some pajamas."

Gently Taylor laughed, "your pajamas won't fit me." Pulling her off the bed, Gabriella practically pushed her into the bathroom.

"I'll find a pair that does, then." When Taylor came out of the shower thirty minutes later, her skin was raw and the feeling of her wet hair sent tingles down her spine. As hard as she tried, she couldn't scrub away the nights events. Gabriella was laying on the bed, practically holding her eye lids up while watching re-runs of _I Love Lucy._ A pair of cotton pajama bottoms, a large t shirt, water bottle and banana was sitting on the side of the bed closest to the bathroom.

"You found some," Taylor chuckled slightly. Gabriella turned the television on mute and looked towards her friend.

"They're Troy's. I hope you don't mind." She smiled, slipping on the pair of pants. "Do you feel better?"

Taylor nodded, "a little." As she climbed into bed and began to peel the banana, she looked over at Gabriella who had returned to watching the TV. "I'm sorry about yelling at you tonight and abandoning our study session."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Even though she didn't intend to sound resentful, her words appeared that way to Taylor.

"No, really, Gabriella. I mean that. Chad would never come before you."

Softly, she smiled back at her friend, "I know that. I just hope you're okay."

"I will be. We're going to meet for breakfast in the morning, talk things over." Taylor crawled deep under the covers and leaned on her side. "I love you, sister."

"Yeah, I know." Grabbing a brush from her nightstand, Gabriella sat on her knees above Taylor. "So, give me minute by minute details, rated G of course."

_You can love someone with all your heart_

_For all the right reasons_

_And in a moment they can choose to walk away_

_Love 'em anyway

* * *

_

**Present Day**

"They're asleep." Gabriella crept into her bedroom, whispering at Troy who was watching late night television. She crawled into bed and kissed her husband on the cheek.

"Good." In the midst of their regular evening 'cuddling' time, Gabriella's cell phone chimed in her purse across the room. "Leave it," Troy moaned.

"It could be an emergency." Climbing out of bed, Troy pulled her back down in an attempt to keep her from getting up, but with no success. As soon as she read the message on her phone, she pulled on the closest bathrobe and slippers and turned to walk out of the room.

"What's wrong?" Concerned, Troy set up on his elbows and looked at his wife.

"It's Taylor. Chad stood her up." Downstairs, Gabriella walked over to the front door, unlocked the deadbolt and doorknob and let her friend in. She looked exhausted and frustrated and wreaked of cigarette smoke.

"Hey," she moaned. "I'm here to pick up my kids." She wobbled inside and fell on the Bolton's sofa.

"They're asleep. What happened?" Gabriella walked into the kitchen to fix something to drink.

"You were right. It was a bad idea." Taylor's words were slurred from exhaustion. She let her head fall back onto the sofa and shut her eyes.

"Did he not even show up?" In the kitchen, Gabriella was slamming counters and digging through drawers.

She laughed angrily, "no. He showed up, with his whole basketball loving posse." Returning from the kitchen, Taylor watched as Gabriella carried a glass of white wine in one hand and two Advil in the other.

Troy walked into the living room past the women into the kitchen, while his wife pressed "so what are you going to do?"

"Nothing. I give up." Taylor lied down completely on the couch and closed her eyes. "You were right and I give up."

"Hey Taylor," Troy walked straight through the kitchen carrying a beer and walked right back upstairs. She just waved at him.

"I hate being right," Gabriella sprawled out on the other couch with her own glass of wine. As she sat there, she heard Taylor begin to cry into the pillow. She got up and crawled on her hands and knees to the couch where she was laying. "Shh, he'll come around."

"I just love him so much."

"I know, that's why this hurts so much." Gabriella held onto her friend as she cried into her shoulder all night long.

_You can pour your soul out singin'_

_A song you believe in _

_That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang_

_Sing it anyway_

_Yeah, sing it anyway_


	9. Someone To Watch Over Me

_There's a saying old, says that love is blind_

_Still we're often told, "seek and ye shall find"_

_So I'm going to seek a certain lad I've had in mind_

Present Day

"I can't believe you're going to go to work and leave me here to die." Troy was lying in bed with a wet rag over his forehead, blankets up to his chin and a thermometer in his mouth.

Gabriella laughed, "You're not going to die. You just have the flu." Sitting on the edge of the bed, she began adjusting the buckle on a high heel shoe. She was dressed in a nice red suit, her hair was up in a loose bun and her make up was flawless. "I have to go to work Troy."

"Why?" He whined. "You need to stay here and take care of me." She leaned across the bed and pulled the thermometer out of his mouth. For a few seconds, she read it carefully before looking down at him gloomily.

"Sorry babe, fevers still there." Taking the rag away from his forehead, she climbed off the bed and walked into the bathroom. "You're acting like a baby. You can manage without me," she said over the running water in the sink.

"I can't. Please stay home with me today." When Gabriella returned, Troy had his bottom lip stuck out like a child.

After kissing him delicately on the forehead, she put the cold towel back down. "I'll call you at lunch. I love you."

Shivering from the rag touching his face, he moaned, "I love you too." Before closing his eyes, he watched her walk out into the hallway and down the stairs.

When Troy woke up hours later, light was pouring in their bedroom through the glass doors of the balcony. Groaning, he rolled over on his side, pulled the towel off his head and slowly stood up from the bed. Every step he took going down the stairs he huffed from the pain shooting through his muscles. When he walked into the living room, the sunlight coming in through the blinds caused him to squint and cover his eyes. Once he made it to the couch, he collapsed and let his body sink into the cushions.

"Okay, I can stay right here until Gabriella gets home," he said aloud to himself.

"Do you always talk to yourself when I'm not around?" Appearing in the doorway of the kitchen, Gabriella was carrying a tray full of food in his direction. Instead of the nice work clothes she had on earlier, now she was wearing a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt, make up washed away and her hair fell to her shoulders. To him, she looked like a guardian angel here to rescue him.

Troy sat there stunned, watching her set the tray on his lap and begin fixing his food for him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I figured you'd need taking care of." She smiled at him gently before sitting down next to him on the couch. "How do you feel?"

"Better now that you're here." Really, the way she put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature and her delicate atmosphere made Troy feel at ease. "You made me lunch?"

"What, like you would be able to make your own lunch?" Her comment caused him to chuckle lightly, before carefully picking up the glass of ginger ale and taking a sip.

He turned his pale face towards her and asked, "will you stay here with me all day?" When she nodded, he looked back down at his lunch and began slowly sipping on the bowl of chicken noodle soup.

"If you're lucky, maybe I'll give you a sponge bath later on." Kissing his cheek, Gabriella reached forward to pick up the remote off of the coffee table and began flipping channels to find anything related to sports.

Between slurps, Troy smiled, "man I get a bath from my woman and a marathon of old basketball games. Today is my day." Gabriella just rolled his eyes knowing how rough of a day was in store for them both.

_There's a someone I'm longin' to see_

_I hope that he, turns out to be_

_Someone who'll watch over me_

**Senior Year**

Outside of the drama room, Gabriella was standing at her locker creating a small pile of books in her arms that she needed for her next class. Taylor and Chad walked up to her, hand in hand, taking little notice to their surroundings. Chad had a basketball tucked under his elbow, while Taylor had her usual satchel of books sung across her shoulder.

"Morning Gabs," Taylor greeted her, still holding onto Chad's hand.

Gabriella smiled at the pair, "good morning to you guys. What did you do this weekend?"

"Don't you wish you knew Montez," Chad's comment caused Taylor's face to turn a dark shade of red. They trio spent several minutes in the hallway discussing their weekend exertions, which ranged from basketball practice to mall hopping. When they sat down in their usual seats in the drama room, Gabriella's eyes fell onto one particularly empty desk.

"Where's Troy, Chad?"

Chad looked at her surprised, "I thought you would know. He has a nasty stomach virus. Puking everywhere." He turned back at Jason and continued their conversation about some important basketball game that had gone on that weekend.

"Hey Tay," Gabriella began shuffling her books into her backpack and cleaning up the area around her desk. "Get my notes for me and I'll come by after school to pick them up, okay?" Before Taylor could argue, Gabriella was racing out the door of the classroom into the hallway.

Not longer after she had left school, Gabriella stepped out of her car onto the driveway of the Bolton's house. Apprehensively, she grabbed her bag out of the front seat and slowly walked towards the front door. Taking a deep breath, she rang the doorbell and waited patiently for someone to let her inside.

"Gabby? What are you doing here?" Troy's appearance took her by surprise, seeing as he was shirtless and wearing just his boxer shorts. From his messy hair to his pale face, in Gabriella's opinion, he looked worse than sick.

She gulped before answering him, "well, I heard you were sick, so I decided to take care of you."

"You skipped school?"

Looking down at her shoes, she nodded guiltily. "Yeah well, don't tell anyone."

"Gabriella Montez skipped school to take care of me. I better let you inside before you change your mind." Troy reached out and grabbed her hand and led her gently through the door way and into the Bolton's home. She felt a little embarrassed being there without his parents, or worse, without their permission.

"So I heard you had a virus…" As she was turning around, she saw him run up the stairs, hand over mouth, gagging. "Troy?" Worried, she ran up the stairs after him only to find him leaning over a pile of throw up on that now resided on the floor of the hallway. They were both incredibly embarrassed, neither one knowing how to handle the situation. Gabriella had never had to take care of a sick person before, and Troy had never let a girl see him sick before.

"So um… I've been throwing up a lot." He smiled weakly at her, before sliding down the wall and crumbling on the floor.

Careful to avoid the pile of slime, she walked over and sat down beside him. "Well you're in luck, because I know how to clean up throw-up and I make really good chicken noodle soup."

"You're sure you want to stay here with me? School would be a lot more fun, I'm sure." Looking up from the floor, he smiled a weak smile and looked at Gabriella with his sad blue eyes.

"Nah, nothing's more fun than hanging out with you. Even if you are sick." Standing up, she grabbed his hand and helped pull him off the floor. "Now, let's go down stairs and get you settled in and then I'll come and clean this up later."

"I think I need to go to the bathroom first," clutching his stomach, Troy dashed into the bathroom down the hall. All Gabriella knew to do was sit there with him, rub his back and wipe his forehead with a damp cloth.

By two o'clock in the afternoon, Troy was finally able to hold down a bowl of Gabriella's 'miracle' chicken soup, as he called it. She had cleaned up the stain on the carpet, changed his bed sheets and sterilized most of the living room while he took a long, hot bath.

"So where did you learn to be such a good nurse?" Buried underneath the covers in his bed, Troy had a thermometer sticking out of one corner of his mouth while trying to talk with the other.

"I guess it comes naturally." She grinned, "your fevers gone."

"I still feel like crap though." Sitting in a computer chair next to the bed, she began fixing the pillows behind his head and taking care of the ice pack on his forehead. "Thank you for skipping school today to take care of me. Don't tell my mom, but you're a better nurse than she is."

Unintentionally, Gabriella blushed and giggled at the same time. "Don't worry, I won't, but don't count on me to skip every time you get a cold or something." Troy closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

"Will you sing to me?" His eyes were still closed but he knew she was surprised from his question. "Please?"

"Troy, you're not two. You can fall asleep without a bedtime story."

"I didn't ask for a story, I want to hear you sing."

Sighing, she relented. "What would you like to hear?"

"I don't care, anything." Before she could part her lips though, he interrupted, "anything but Twinkle Towne."

"Okay." Pushing the wheeled chair away from his bed, she stood up and walked over to the collection of pictures and keepsakes that resided on top of his bookcase. Taking a deep breath, Gabriella let her overwhelmingly beautiful voice fill his small bedroom.

_I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood _

_I know I could, always be good_

_To one who'll watch over me_

"So don't laugh…" when she finished, she turned around and found him sound asleep on his bed, faced buried in the pillows. Quietly, she crept out of his bedroom and went downstairs to finish de-germing the rest of the house.

* * *

"Gabriella, what are you doing here?" Anne Bolton was surprised to see her sons girlfriend sitting in their living room reading a book at four o'clock in the afternoon. "When I left this morning Troy was sick. He didn't go to ball practice did he?"

Gabriella jumped up off the couch in surprise, "no ma'am. I um… knew he was sick and came over to visit him for a while." She felt nauseous for having to lie to Mrs. Bolton.

"Well that was sweet of you. Where is Troy?" The woman walked into the kitchen, dropped the briefcase she was carrying and began digging through cupboards in search of food.

"Last time I checked he was asleep."

"Not anymore," Troy appeared in front of his mom and girlfriend, smiling. Now wearing a fresh polo tshirt and blue jeans, his blue eyes sparkled brighter than ever and the color had returned to his cheeks. "Hey mom, how was your day?" Without thinking twice, he walked over and kissed Gabriella on the cheek.

"It was fine, dear. How was yours?"

Troy grinned from ear to ear, "fantastic. Gabriella did a great job nursing me back to health. You can hook her up with an excuse note for tomorrow, right?"

"Of course, and thanks Gabriella. Troy can be a real baby when he's sick." Before the stranger could protest, Mrs. Bolton was already jotting down on a pad of paper a perfect sounding excuse as to why she was absent from school.

"Well thanks Mrs. Bolton. I guess I should get going. I'll see you tomorrow Troy."

Troy jumped right out in front of her, "not so fast. I'm going to take you out for dinner."

"Troy Bolton," his mother interrupted the conversation between the two, "as far as I'm concerned, you're still home sick. So that's a NO to going out tonight. But I was thinking about ordering a pizza and Gabriella is welcome to stay."

"Thanks Mrs. Bolton, but I…" Suddenly, the room felt it was spinning and Gabriella's stomach was churning. " I…" Knowing what was coming, she ran to the closest bathroom as fast as she could.

"What happened?" Troy's mother asked, confused.

"Mom, I think you're going to have to write another excuse note for school."

"Why?" Troy was already heading towards the bathroom when she stopped him. He just turned around, smiling.

"Because Gabriella's sick, and I need to stay home and take care of her."

_Won't you tell him please to put on some speed_

_Follow my lead, oh, how I need_

_Someone to watch over me

* * *

Okay.. everyone wanted some Troyella stuff.. so here it is. I tried to make it as sweet and cutsie as possible!_

Thanks for all of the fantastic reviews! I'd actually love to hear what yah'll think of the flashbacks. I have a lot planned and want to know how much you like them before I continue using them.

Also, I just want to give you a heads up. Don't think this story is just going to be nice and perfect, rainbows and butterflies. Just to warn you- the next chapter is going to the last fluffy chapter for a while.. I hate to do it, but some things just have to be done. So, with that said, please don't give up on me! I promise.. I won't let you down!

Have a great Easter-- I'm sure there will be two or three more chapters up before then.

I'd ask the Easter Bunny for a box of tissues. Hint, hint.


	10. In My Life

_There are places I remember_

_All my life, though some have changed_

_Some forever not for better_

_Some have gone and some remain_

**Senior Year**

"Psst… Troy…wake up!" When Troy's eyes popped open, Gabriella was standing over his bed, shaking him vigorously on the shoulder. "Come on birthday boy… get up!"

Rubbing his eyes, he looked over at the clock on the desk in the corner. "Gabriella it's 4:30! What are you doing in my bedroom?"

"Come on… we're going on an adventure. Get up." Grabbing the corner of the covers, she pulled the bed sheets off of him and threw them onto the floor.

Troy groaned loudly before rolling over on his stomach and burying his face in a pillow. "Stop it. What are you doing?" Gabriella had already made it across the room to turn the over head lights on and was prepared to pour a bucket of water on him if need be. "Alright, alright, I'm up!" Slowly, he sat up and stretched while yawning like a lion.

"Now, shower up and meet me in the driveway in fifteen minutes." Before he could turn around, she had dashed out of his room and was on her way downstairs. Tremendously confused, Troy looked over again at the clock, which now read 4:31. He just shook his head before walking towards the closet to pick out something to wear.

Thirty minutes later, he found a very frustrated Gabriella sitting in her jeep; radio blaring and the heat up so high the windows were completely fogged. She had a half eaten donut in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Yawning, Troy climbed in the passenger's side of the car where a bag was sitting waiting for him. "Please tell me you did not get me up this early to bring me Dunkin Donuts."

"Are you always this mean before dawn?" Troy just rolled his eyes and began rummaging through the bag of treats." What was with the thirty-minute shower? Trying to impress someone?" Gabriella asked, bobbing her eye brows up and down.

"Yeah, you. So maybe we could go back to bed." Settling on a chocolate and sprinkled frosted donut, he took a bite before turning his attention to the thermos of coffee in the cup holder. "You got everything perfect, though. I'll give you credit for that."

As she turned onto the busy highway, she just smiled at his sleepy eyes and chocolate smeared smile. "I'll wake you up when I'm tired of driving." Gabriella turned the volume up on the radio and began humming softly, occasionally taking a sip of coffee or chewing on a piece of gum.

Four and a half hours later, Troy woke up with the sun glaring in his eyes. For a second, he forgot that he was in a moving car and jumped when he saw an eighteen-wheeler zoom past the window.

"Good morning sleepy head." Troy really got to take a look at his girlfriend now that it was light outside. In her big sunglasses, East High sweatshirt and a messy ponytail, he thought she was the most beautiful thing in the world. With one hand waving out the window of the car and the other on the steering wheel, she was completely fixated on the road before her, only taking her eyes off the road for a second. "I thought maybe you were dead over there."

Troy sat up and took in his surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Oh about two and a half hours south of Denver."

"What?" His voice was panicky and he looked at her like she was crazy. "Denver? My parents are going to kill me. Your mom is going to kill me. They'll bring me back from the dead just to kill me again."

"Don't worry. They know." Awkwardly, she dug through her purse with one hand, eyes still on the road, and eventually found her cell phone at the very bottom. Handing it to him, she laughed, "here, call my mom and see what she says."

Troy actually considered calling her mother, but then realized that this was Gabriella Montez, and she never broke any rules. He shifted his body and looked back over at her. "So what's in Denver? Other than mountains and snow."

"Your birthday present." Tossing the freshly chewed piece of gum out the window, she began to dig for another one in her purse. The radio was blaring, two out of the four windows of the car were down and the breakfast trash from early was missing.

"And that is…" He looked down at his feet to find a bag of magazines, his IPOD, cell phone and a few snacks. "Oh my gosh… we're not going on a college tour are we?"

"No. I know you better than that. If you want to know so bad, then you'll have to guess." The way she was teasing him made Troy's heart stop. He looked down at her long, skinny, tan legs that looked extraordinary against her red cheerleading shorts.

He gulped, "I don't know. Mountain biking? Mountain climbing? Skiing? Snowboarding? What?"

"No, no, no and no. No to all four."

"I give up then. Nothing happens in Denver, ever." He was still staring at her when she finally turned her head completely in his direction. Even from behind her thick, black sunglasses he could see her eyes smiling at him.

"Do you feel like driving? I'm exhausted and I thought we could stop at McDonalds and take a restroom break." When the stoplight changed from red to green, she turned her eyes back to the road and slammed her foot gently on the accelerator.

"Um, sure. But why the change in subject?"

"You didn't guess. Could you get something out of my purse for me? It's a long, white envelope." The atmosphere in the car changed as she rolled up the windows and turned down the volume of the _Gwen Stefani_ song.

"Are you sure?" Troy felt strange digging through her purse, even if it was the size of a large backpack. She had everything from books and notebooks, calculators and writing utensils to water bottles, make up and notes tossed around in her satchel. "For such a smart person, you have a very messy purse." When his eyes fell on the envelope she was talking about, he looked down at it and then back at her.

"Well open it. It has your name on it, after all." Smiling from ear to ear, she looked at him in anticipation. Troy realized that they had made it to the McDonald's and were sitting in a space in the busy parking lot. Carefully, he turned the envelope over and began tearing at the lip. As he pulled two small, colorful pieces of paper out, his blue eyes grew wider than she had ever seen.

"Gabriella… these are… these are," holding the pieces of paper in the air, Troy began waving them in the air, while he was bouncing up and down in his seat. "These are Lakers tickets… and good Laker's tickets. Court side seats. Gabriella?!"

"Now don't ask any more questions and just go with the flow okay…" Before she could finish, his lips were up against her and his hands were all over her face. Giggling after they pulled apart, she asked, "what was that for?"

"Well thank you of course." They hoped out of the car and began walking towards the restaurant when Troy grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him. This time when their lips met, she deepened the kiss and they stayed like that in the parking lot for several seconds.

When they broke apart, Troy smiled down at her, "because you look hott and I wanted to kiss you again." Blushing, she grabbed his hand and turned around inside the restaurant. He was bubbling with excitement, chatting about the game and their plans for the day.

At eleven o'clock that night, Troy had Gabriella on his back, carrying her into the empty hotel room. The couple was decked out in purple and gold Laker's paraphernalia. She even had sparkling confetti coming out of her ponytail. From the hallway, they were laughing and singing a chant song, very loud and off key. Guests would walk buy and just smile, remembering what it was like to be young and in love.

"Oh it's good to be home." Troy laughed, before dropping her onto a bed and rolling on top of her. She squealed and continued giggling as he crawled up to her.

When their faces were inches apart, she huffed "but you're not at home." He leaned forward and kissed her passionately on the lips.

"Nope. But I like being here with you." Another kiss followed and Gabriella moaned under the pressure of his lips. "What about that other bed? It might get lonely."

"Nah." As Troy kissed her neck, his hands fell to the seam of the jersey she was wearing and he was slowly pushing it up to her chest. "I think it will be okay."

"Why does the bed have feelings?" Leaving her neck, he traced kisses down to her naval and bellybutton, continuing to push the jersey closer to her face. Finally, the purple and gold cloth was being pulled above her head, leaving a satin red bra all to Troy's imagination. "Oh my gosh, Gabriella."

Before his hands could fall on her breasts, she sat up, and pushed him off of her. Grabbing the jersey, she threw it over her head and looked at him angrily. "Troy what are we doing?" He looked at her confused and slightly hurt, but came closer and tried to kiss her. "Stop it!"

"Come on Gabriella, just relax." His voice was soft and cool. Gabriella felt his hands crawling up her back towards the clasp of her underwear.

"Troy Stop It!" With force, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him to the other end of the bed. He hobbled back and fell to his feet. "What are you doing?"

"I… I … don't know. I guess I just thought…"

Pulling her knees to her chest, she glared at him and the bulge in his pants. "What? That this was an opportunity for us to have sex?!"

"No… well, yeah. But I mean, I thought you wanted…" When Troy saw tears spring from the corners of her eyes, he pulled his white under shirt on and sat on the other bed across from her.

"No I didn't want… Not like this!" Grabbing the pillow next to her, she wiped the tears from her eyes, smearing her makeup and face paint all over the clean white linen.

Troy looked down at the floor disgusted with himself. Never mind the uncomfortable shaft between his legs, it felt like the walls were closing in on him and that he could feel Gabriella's heart breaking. "I'm so sorry… I shouldn't have…"

"It's okay." Her voice was soft and peaceful again. "I'm not ready for that, Troy. I saw what happened to Taylor." When he looked back up at her, his eyes were blotchy and red. "It's not that I don't want too with you… I love you Troy, I just…"

"I understand," he interrupted her. "I want too, so bad Gabriella. And I guess something just took over."

Now it was her turn to look at the floor. "You're not mad at me are you? That I didn't…"

"No! Gosh please don't think that!" Dropping to his knees, he crawled over to her and looked into those beautiful brown eyes that held the key to his heart. "It's just strange, you know. I mean we're the only ones…" She sent him an odd look, signaling a need for more information. "After Chad and Taylor… we're the only ones that haven't."

"So that doesn't mean we have too!"

He sighed, "I know. I don't want you to think though that I don't love you like that." Redness filled his cheeks, but he didn't take his eyes away from hers.

"Troy! Do you honestly think that I wouldn't love you because you don't want to sleep with me?" As his head nodded up and down, she could not help but let a slight giggle escape her lips.

"It's not funny."

"Yes it is," she explained. "I love you and our relationship. I think if we were to have had sex now, it would have ruined things."

"Me too," he sighed. "I'm not ready to lose you over this…" For a few seconds they sat in silence, letting the awkwardness of the situation tear away at them.

Finally, Gabriella cut the ice, "so Sharpay and Zeke…" Troy just nodded.

"And everyone else you can think of…" He frowned and again looked down at the carpet. "Could you just not tell them about this. I mean, Chad knows, but if everyone were to hear I would never live it down in the locker room. They'd probably think I was less of a man because I wasn't dieing to have sex…"

Gabriella stood up, pulled him to his feet and looked at his brilliant blue eyes. "Troy, I think you are more of a man for what you just did than you can imagine." Leaning in, she kissed him gently on the lips, sending shivers through both of them. "Now I think I'm going to go vending machines and get something to drink, do you want to come?"

Remembering his uncomfortable disposition, Troy blushed a furious shade of red, brighter than the Wildcat mascot and anything unlike Gabriella had seen. His voice was scratchy when he choked out, "no I think I'll uh… stay here and uh… pull the beds down." She looked at him oddly, but decided not to press the issue, grabbed the room key and headed out the door.

_All these places had their moments_

_With lovers and friends_

_I still can recall_

_Some are dead and some are living_

_In my life, I've loved them all_

* * *

_But of all these friends and lovers_

_There is no one compares with you_

_And these memories lose their meaning_

_When I think of love as something new_

**Senior Year**

"So did you enjoy your birthday?" Appearing in the doorway of their bedroom, Gabriella was massaging lotion into her face and arms, wearing a loose fitting nightgown. Troy was already in his usual spot on the bed with his legs on top of covers. "I know it wasn't anything elaborate or special."

He looked up at her and smiled. "No it was perfect." Not even an hour before, the couple was sitting at a restaurant across town, circled by their friends enjoying a meal and celebrating Troy Bolton's 29th birthday. The whole gang was in attendance except one bushy haired best friend. "I just wish Chad could have shown up."

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Climbing into bed, Gabriella noticed her husband's sad demeanor. "I don't know what to say Troy, you know how I feel about Chad right now."

"Yeah I know." He pulled his legs under the covers and slid down so he was able to look at her face. With one arm under his head and the other rubbing her face, he smiled. "Let's just not talk about that tonight."

"Are you sure you okay, birthday boy? I hope it didn't ruin your night."

Troy just smiled before kissing her peacefully on the lips. "It's okay. I'll see him on Thanksgiving." They continued talking about generic topics until after midnight, when Gabriella felt it appropriate to bring up a burning question.

"I'm so sleepy." She buried her face in his chest and looked up at the white ceiling. "So I got a phone call from someone in Ohio this morning wanting to talk to you." From beneath his undershirt, she could feel his heart begin to beat faster.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Ohio State University… something about a coaching job." He took a deep breath and waited for her to continue. "They said you turned it down. Why?"

Troy looked down at her confused. He didn't understand why she was okay with talking about this. "Because… we've gone over this."

"I know." Sitting up, Gabriella leaned her back against the headboard, pulled her legs to her chest and began playing with her toes. "Troy you love basketball and I know you never really got your chance to shine … so…"

"What are you saying?" He watched her run her hands up and down her soft legs and then down to her red toenails.

"I'm saying… I don't feel like I have to compete with basketball anymore." The way she spoke with such assurance surprised Troy. Especially after the way the last discussion of moving had ended: he left.

Looking down at his lap, he asked, "did you ever feel like you had to compete with basketball?"

Gabriella laughed silently, "duh, Troy. It was always basketball first, Gabriella second in high school. But I didn't mind, that was your passion." If she had ever wanted him to feel guilty before, she just succeeded.

"You really thought that?" He scooted close to her before cupping her face in his hands.

She stared into his blue eyes, "Troy it's fine. I just worked with it. The point is though; it's not like that now. And I know that you aren't happy coaching high schoolers. There's no way to let your talent shine."

He couldn't help but turn away from her, embarrassed from the compliment. "I'm fine with my job here Gabriella."

"Maybe I want to get out of here."

"Huh?"

Elegantly, she climbed off the bed and walked towards the window. Letting her eyes explore the night sky, she whispered back at him "I want to start over somewhere, try something new for a while."

"Why?" Troy flew across the bed and stood next to her. He caught several tears that were dripping from her eyelids. "What's wrong?"

"We sent the adoption papers in and everything… but I can still feel it here. I just want to get away for a while and if Ohio is the place, then I'm okay with that. Do you understand?"

Finally understanding her plight, he wrapped his arms around her for comfort and protection. Soon, she buried her face in his neck and sobbed. "I got it. I'm sorry I should have listened earlier."

When Gabriella pulled away, she wiped her eyes with one hand and looked at him. "Troy we can make a home anywhere, even in Columbus." In one swoop, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Dropping her on the bed, Troy gazed into her eyes and kissed her hard on the lips.

"Should I call them back?"

Nodding, she chuckled as his bangs tickled her face. "So we're moving to Ohio."

"You know what they say… 'Ohio is for lovers'!" They kissed again and Gabriella pushed Troy's white undershirt over his head and onto the floor.

"Yeah well, Happy Birthday lover." A minute later, her night gown fell onto the floor and they made love in Albuquerque for possibly the last time.

_Though I know I'll never loose affection_

_Fro people and things that went before_

_I know I'll often stop and think about them_

_In my life I love you more

* * *

So pretty much this is definetly NOT my favorite chapter.. it's kind of a filler to give you info.. foreshadow some stuff, etc. I hope you're not too dissapointed. Also, sorry about the sex stuff.. I tried to be as.. obscure as possile._

Thank you soo much for the reviews for the last chapter! There were so many and I was so pleased! Also, you did a great job telling me exactly what you wanted to see! Remember, I'm always taking ideas and would really appreciate some more! (Especially for the flashbacks. Like clothing, school events, etc. Anything at all really!)

Anways, you guys did such a good job reviewing I'll try not being so mean in the next chapter. I promise it will be up by tom. night. But I want to make sure that it is extra good. Just please go ahead and get in this mind set: It's not over until I say it's over.

Have a great day!


	11. You Stupid Boy

_Well, she was precious like a flower_

_She grew wild, wild but innocent_

_A perfect prayer in a desperate hour_

_She was everything beautiful and different_

**Present Day, Thanksgiving**

"Mmmm, something smells good." Creeping up behind his wife, Troy wrapped his arms behind her waist and kissed her kindly on the cheeks. "What is that, essence of turkey grease?"

"Ha ha… very funny." With her hands in a large mixing bowel, Gabriella was mashing cranberries with her small hands. Flurries of flower covered her face and clothes. She had on a plaid apron and her hair was tied back in a messy pony tail, with stands of loose hair falling in her eyes. "I don't see you helping very much." Satisfied with the consistency of the cranberries, she began moving onto the next task in the kitchen.

"Well give me something to help you with." He was so amazed watching her hustle back and forth around the kitchen. She would bounce from the stove to the refrigerator to the table only stopping occasionally to take a sip of water and brush back her hair.

Stopping to wipe her hands off on her apron, she looked at him skeptically. "You really want to help?"

"Well… yeah, I mean you always do all the work." Troy flashed a grin before finishing, "I'm not a complete klutz in the kitchen."

"And this is coming from the guy who caught the toaster on fire last week while trying to make waffles?" Resting her hands on her hips, she leaned to one side and stared him down. When he stuck out his bottom lip made a pleading look with his eyes, she finally broke down and agreed. "Alright, come here. You can make the mashed potatoes."

After giving detailed instructions on how to work the mixer, what ingredients to add and when to add them, she left him alone to get started. "This isn't so hard," he laughed. He kept one hand on the mixer while the other slowly crept to her waist.

"Troy stop, get back to work. Everyone's going to be here at five." Gabriella heard Troy turn up the power on the blender and before she could tell him to stop, chunks of mashed potatoes landed on her face, in her air and all over the walls of the kitchen. Troy was screaming several choice words while trying to turn the power tool off and Gabriella managed to pull the plug out of the wall before more potatoes could cover her skin.

Wiping the mess off of his face, he looked over at her and saw a very angry looking set of brown eyes hiding under a pile of white mush. "What happened?" He tossed her a towel and took a step back to admire his mess.

"You were being stupid. Troy you are completely cooking retarded, aren't you? Can you even make a bowl of cereal correctly?" Trying her hardest to wipe the junk off her face, Gabriella looked around her destroyed kitchen. Potatoes covered every surface, including the bowl of cranberries she was working on earlier and the pumpkin pie on top of the stove. White stuff was caked on the pile of plates she had set out for dinner.

Troy frowned, "come on it's not that bad." He knew he was lying as he looked around the kitchen. It was really _that _bad.

"Yes it is Troy!" Yelling at the top of her lungs, she began walking around admiring the mess. "I've been up since six, dinner's in less than two hours and everything is destroyed! There isn't enough time to remake this stuff, wash the dishes and have the rest of the food prepared by the time everyone gets here!"

Coming to her side at the counter, he hovered over the bowl of cranberries she had been working on. A mixture of tears and potato pieces were floating around in the red mush. "It'll be okay, Gabs. I promise. We can call out, I'll help clean up…"

"You will get out of this kitchen, Troy Bolton!" Two fingers pointed towards the doorway out of the kitchen, while she discretely stuck the other hand in the bowl of fruit.

"Are you sure Gabs? I can help clean up…" The feeling of cold juice trickling down the side of his faced caused him to stop mid sentence. Looking up, Gabriella's hand was above his head, squeezing a handful of the cranberries on top of him. "Oh you're going to pay for that!" In no time at all, the kitchen was even dirtier, covered in everything from whipped cream to cranberries and cherry cobbler. The couple's faces and clothes had smeared food all over them from top to bottom.

But Gabriella didn't care anymore. Now she was too busy being covered in kisses by Troy as they moved up to their bedroom at the top of the steps. "Shower," she huffed while coming up for air. When they made it to the bathroom, Troy turned the water on high and practically pushed her in. They spent the rest of the morning in the shower and entertaining each other upstairs.

Troy crept out of the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him. He left Gabriella in the room taking a nap, exhausted from being up since the crack of dawn. When he entered the kitchen, he sulked seeing how destroyed it was. Knowing he was the reason behind the mess, he walked over to the phone hanging on the wall and made an emergency phone call.

"Hey Zeke… yeah happy Thanksgiving… listen I kind of had a disaster this morning in the kitchen and I need your help… can you get here in two hours… yeah, bring Sharpay too. Okay see you then." Hanging up, he turned around and eyed the mess, searching for a place to begin.

_Stupid Boy_

_You can't fence that In_

_You stupid boy_

_It's like holding back the wind

* * *

_

_She laid her heart and soul right in your hands_

_And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans_

_She never even knew she had a choice_

_And that's what happens when the only voice she hears_

_Is telling her she can't, Stupid boy_

Three hours later, Gabriella rolled out of bed and screamed when she looked at the clock sitting next to her. Dinner was only an hour away and her kitchen was still destroyed. After practically falling out of bed and running downstairs, she found Troy sitting on the couch watching a football game with his feet propped up.

"Figures you would seduce me and then leave me to clean up the mess," she scowled, crossing her arms and looking over at him. He had a sort of content, mischievous look on his face, which usually signaled trouble.

"Hey" He put his hands up in defense, "I was not completely in fault for the seducing… you certainly didn't say 'no.'" Turning his attention back to the game, he just smirked "there's a surprise waiting for you in the kitchen."

There was no way Gabriella suspected what she was about to find. Turning on her heel quickly, she walked through the open doorway into their kitchen. "What did you do now…" Stopping, her breath was taken away by the spotless kitchen before her. No longer were half-mashed potatoes splattered on every surface. Instead, the floors were shining, the counter tops perfect, and the walls better than before. The thing that surprised her the most though, was the assortment of food sitting on top of the stove and table.

"I'm not completely incompetent…" Troy was standing behind her, eyeing his hard work.

"You did this?" Still surprised, she turned around and looked at him curiously. "_You _did this?"

He just smiled. "I may be a devil in the bedroom, but I'm as perfect as Betty Crocker in the kitchen." Gabriella couldn't help but laugh at his cocky attitude. "I think someone owes me an apology."

"I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?" She batted her eyebrows and made a sad puppy-dog looking face. Leaning down, Troy planted a huge, wet kiss square on her lips.

"I'll tell you later, babe." He winked. "Now go get dressed, we've got a party to host!"

_So what made you think you could take a life_

_And just push it, push it around_

_I guess to build yourself up so high_

_You had to take her, and break her, down_

_She laid her heart and soul right in your hands

* * *

_

_And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans_

_She never even knew she had a choice_

_But that's what happens when the only voice she hears_

_Is telling her she can't_

No one would have known that the Bolton's house was a wreck just hours before the Thanksgiving feast. Instead, everything was perfect and beautiful, just as Gabriella had wanted it. The dining room table was turned into a beautiful setting with gorgeous fall flowers, an ivory table cloth and their fine china. As everyone doted on how amazing the house looked, she made note to thank her husband later.

"So I was thinking we could go around and say something we're thankful for." While everyone stood around the dining room table waiting to sit and eat their feast, Gabriella's comment received an array of groans.

"I don't really have anything to say…" Sharpay sighed and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"This is a tradition guys… I'm sure we could find something." But as she finished, Gabriella realized that she too had nothing to really be thankful for this year. Her best friend was broken hearted, she had lost a baby and almost her husband. "Never mind," she mumbled before sitting down in the chair.

Everyone followed suit, clinging their glasses and picking up utensils to begin eating. Everyone except Taylor, who stood behind her chair staring angrily at her displeased friends. "You guys have got to be kidding me." The chatter stopped and forks were dropped when she spoke up.

"What's wrong?" Zeke asked her, with half a mouth full of food.

"How can we say we have nothing to be thankful for? We have food and clothing and a home. We have so much." Taylor felt a few tears fall down her cheeks. "How can you be so snotty?"

"Taylor's right." This time Kelsi pushed her chair back and stood up. "Yeah, we've all our rough spots this year… but the blessings definitely outnumbered the bad."

Soon, everyone except Gabriella and Sharpay had stood up. "I'm thankful my store is doing so well." Zeke grinned.

"I'm thankful for our children." Jason grabbed Kelsi's hand and kissed it.

"I'm thankful for Gabriella." Troy smiled down at his wife who had an scared look on her face. "I'm thankful that she came home."

Taylor looked around. "Sharpay, Gabriella come on. There's got to be something."

"Well… Even if I haven't seen Ryan in over a year… I'm thankful that he's being so successful and is about to be a big time star." Zeke wrapped his arm around her back when she stood up. "Oh and I'm thankful for this." She pointed to her belly and everyone chuckled.

"Gabriella?"

"I'm thankful for…" she paused and looked around nervously. Six pairs of eyes were staring at her anxiously. "I'm thankful for… Taylor. Because she has been so amazing this year, and she's so strong."

Taylor looked at her happily before adding her own prayer of thanks. "I'm thankful for my friends. I wouldn't have made it this year without you guys." Hugs were exchanged, people continued finding things to be thankful for and soon Troy's growling stomach was louder than the voices in the room.

"Guys, this is sweet and all, but can we eat while we're doing this? I'm starving!" Collapsing in the chair, he took a big bite out of the pile of mashed potatoes sitting on his plate. "Hey I did a good job!" Laughter filled the room and soon the gang was eating dinner and having an all around good time, forgetting about the bad things that had happened over the last few months.

_Oh, You always had to be right_

_And now you lost the thing_

_that ever made you feel alive

* * *

_

_Oh I'm the same old, same old, stupid boy_

_It took a while for her to figure out she could run_

_But when she did, she was, long gone, long gone_

Amidst a dessert of chocolate mousse cake, pumpkin pie and apple cobbler (all made by Zeke, of course) Chad Danforth burst through the door of the Bolton house. His arrival took everyone surprised, especially Taylor who had not expected her estranged husband to show up. Toppling into the dining room, he swayed back and forth until he sat down at his empty seat.

"What's for dinner, guys?" His words were slurred, eyes red and clothes wrinkled. Gabriella looked at him strangely, before excusing herself to the next room.

"Um… Happy Thanksgiving, Chad." Zeke's attempt to act polite earned a grunt from Sharpay, who too excused herself and followed Gabriella.

"Troy, my man!" Chad sent a sloppy air-five from across the table and his friend. Troy's lips were pursed and arms crossed as he watched his friend make a complete fool out of his self. "Oh look, there's my ex wife. What a whore."

"Excuse me?" Taylor scowled.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I break your heart again?" Chunks of cake flew out of his mouth and he leaned closer to her. "Isn't that what you want to hear, that I broke your heart?"

"Chad you should go." He was so close to Taylor that she could smell the sex and alcohol that was coming off of him. "Don't let the kids see you like this."

"The kids are here? Didn't you tell me once that Troy was a better father than I was?" He spat. "I find that hard to believe, seeing as his sperm is completely useless. He can't even knock up his own wife."

Troy just glared at him. "Come on Chad, let's go for a walk. Cool off."

"No. You stay out of this." Chad pointed at his friend Sharply. "I want to talk to my wife. Met anyone else yet, Taylor? Find a new father for my kids?" Taylor gulped, but kept her eyes straight on him. "Isn't that what you want, to forget about me?"

"Chad shut up." Looking down at her plate, she felt hot tears stream off of her face. Gabriella and Sharpay had returned into the room after hearing all the screaming and was watching their friend helplessly. "Just go. You're embarrassing yourself."

Chad's alcoholic rage set in and he pushed his chair back with such force, the table shook. When he stood up and hovered over his once love, she coward beneath him. He slammed his hand down on the dining room table, sending Gabriella's wedding china onto the floor. "I'm embarrassing myself? You're the whore who left me!" Before Chad's hand could fall on Taylor's face, Troy grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back. Foul words poured out of his mouth.

"Chad do not come into my home on Thanksgiving, ruin our dinner and threaten my friend." Troy pushed Chad to the foyer before letting him go. Furious, the man turned around and punched him right in the face in one fair swoop. Tumbling back he yelled, "get out Chad. I'm threw with you!"  
"What's wrong Troy? Gabriella's trained you to hate me. That little bitch." Troy felt like killing his soon to be ex-best friend. But instead, he walked over to the front door, pulled it open and pointed outside.

"Leave Chad."

"I'm your best friend man, you can't kick me out."

"My best friend wouldn't forget my birthday because he was too busy having sex with prostitutes. MY best FRIEND wouldn't choose getting drunk over having Thanksgiving with his family. **MY BEST FRIEND** wouldn't divorce his wife." Taking a deep breath, Troy stopped yelling and stared at Chad who was surprised by all of the screaming and had stopped fighting. Rubbing his swollen cheek, he softly added, "my best friend, Chad Danforth, wouldn't choose some stupid game over his friends and family."

"Troy… I am Chad. Come on man…" Chad swayed over to the doorway and watched as Troy dropped his face to the floor.

"No you're not. You're not my best friend and you're not the Chad I once knew." As soon as Chad had taken one sloppy step outside of the house, Troy slammed the front door and turned around to an awed group of friends. Gabriella had tears in her eyes and was holding onto Sharpay who had arms around a sobbing Taylor. Jason looked confused and angry and Zeke was trying to clean up the shattered porcelain on the floor.

"Troy?" Gabriella turned towards her husband. He just waved one hand and walked upstairs.

_Nobody's ever gonna love me like she loved me_

_She loved me, she loved me_

_God please, just let her know_

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry baby_

_Yeah I'm down on my knees_

_She's never coming back to me

* * *

_

_She laid her heart and soul right in your hands_

_You stole her every dream and you crushed her plans_

_She never even knew she had a choice_

_But thats what happens when the only voice she hears_

_Is telling her, she can't_

"Are you sure Troy's going to be okay?" Taylor stood outside her car, engine running, trying to be convinced that her best friend's husband was going to survive the fight with Chad.

"Yes, Taylor. Are you?" Gabriella asked concerned. She pulled the blanket around her body tighter, trying to stay warm, as she still had on the brown dress from earlier. Sharpay was standing next to her in a pair of blue jeans and sweatshirt, having already changed. Jason and Kelsi had gone home, and Zeke was inside trying to talk to Troy.

"I"ll be fine. I'm over it." Taylor stepped inside the car and sat down in the drivers seat. "Tell Troy I'm sorry and I love him." Nodding her head, Gabriella gave Taylor a long hug and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Taylor."

"Yeah, me too. Happy Thanksgiving." Closing the heavy door to her explorer, Taylor put the car in drive and pulled out of the Bolton's driveway. Sharpay just clung onto Gabriella letting a few tears slip out of her eyes.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" The blonde asked.

"I don't know." Turning to go inside, Gabriella wrapped part of the blanket around Sharpay and let the cold silence surround them.

What usually took twenty minutes took Taylor half of that to get home that evening. With both children asleep in the back of the car, she slammed her foot on the accelerator and let the car go. She bit back the tears from when she got home and put the children in bed. Finally laying down in her own bed, she looked around at the pictures of her family hanging off the wall. Chad was playing basketball, Chad with the kids, Chad in high school; everything around reminded her of the relationship she had with him and how he destroyed it tonight.

Too busy sobbing into her pillow, she let her cell phone ring several times, ignoring it. The fifth time it rang though, she rolled over, wiped her eyes and flipped open the front. Expecting a call from Gabriella or Sharpay checking on her, she answered rather rudely. "What do you want?"

"Is this Mrs. Danforth?" Hearing Chad's last name, she sat up on her bed, startled.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"I'm sorry ma'am. This is a nurse from Albuquerque General Hospital. I'm sorry to be calling you late but I'm sorry I have some bad news." Taylor stared into the darkness, hanging off every word coming from the woman. "Ma'am I'm sorry to tell you this, but your husband has been in an accident and is in critical condition. Is there anyway you could come down here?"

Before the lady could finish, Taylor hung up the phone and dialed an all-too-familiar number.

"Troy?" Hearing his groggy voice answer the phone caused a fountain of tears to pour down her face. Hardly able to speak, she coughed out "Chad. Accident. Hospital."

_Oh you stupid boy_

_Stupid boy_

_She was long gone, long gone

* * *

AN: Okay, so that was really sad. Granted, it did put me in a really bad mood. Sorry for yah'll you Chad lover's out there.. things are going to be pretty grim. Don't think I hate Chad, he's actually pretty important in the rest of the story._

The next three chapters are going to be the sad ones. I'm trying to get them out as fast as I can, but school started up again so we'll see. Also, special thanks to Kathy(i forgot the numbers, but you know who you are!) You were totally a help and supporter!

I loved all the reviews from the last chapter, especially since I didn't like it very much. Now, tell me.. should the wildcats win their championship again??


	12. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Guys I am soo sorry! As most of you know, the site has been having problems uploading documents for the last weekend. So I promise I wasn't just being lazy.. or worse, forgotten about you! I hope you enjoy this chapter-- I worked really hard on the next three!

I love yah'll!_

* * *

_

Hello darkness my old friend

_I've come to talk to with you again._

_Because a vision softly creeping_

_Left its seeds while I was sleeping,_

_And the vision that was planted in my brain_

_Still remains within the sounds of silence. _

**Senior Year**

"Please tell me that I didn't give up an afternoon of studying to watch you play more basketball." Grimacing, Taylor stretched her legs out on the dashboard of Chad's broken down sedan. She had a blanket stretched out across her legs, gloves on her hands and a baseball cap on trying to keep out the cold.

Putting on a fake look of hurt, he turned to her "I thought you liked going to my basketball games?"

"I do. But I like studying more." She pulled the blanket up to her neck before sticking her tongue out at him. "So where are we?" In front of her eyes was something that looked like a mix between a prison and a school from hell.

"You'll see." Chad parked the car, and like the gentlemen he is, ran around to the passengers side and opened the door for her. "

"I think it's warmer outside than in the car." She wined, continuing to poke fun of Chad's car and its lack of working heat. Walking towards the front of the building, he wrapped a protective arm around Taylor's waist and suddenly became very sullen.

"So um… you know how I live with my grandparents?" They were standing in front of two iron doors, which looked like something you'd see in a movie. Taylor nodded, waiting for him to continue. "Well, my dad ran out on me and my mom when I was like, two."

Taylor's eyes widened. "Chad I had no idea."

"Just wait a second." He subconsciously gripped her hand tighter, but kept his eyes locked firmly on those double doors. "My mom didn't take it very well and kind of resorted to other things to make her feel better. Well, Taylor, she kind of lost her mind and one day they came and got her and put her in here." Chad had said the last sentence so fast that she had barely understood what he said. But she knew enough.

"God, Chad."

He smiled a unsure, trying to seem Okay, sort of smile. "Look, it's not a big deal. I'm over it. I moved in with my grandparents and spent most of my time with Troy and his family. That's probably the reason we're so close. His dad taught us both basketball, it was cool." He took a pause to catch his breath and wait for a reaction out of her. Instead, she just stood, shocked. "Anyways, I just thought my mom would like to meet you. I mean, unless you're not Okay with it, and I completely understand…."

"No, Chad. It's fine." She walked over and pulled on the heavy doors, before grabbing his hand. "I would love to meet your mother."

The walk from the front desk to Mrs. Danforth's room was a long, quiet, one. Both Chad and Taylor were too nervous to say anything to the other one. A nurse led them through the sad corridors, filled with cries and screams of suffering patients. When a set of doctors rushed passed them, Taylor clung harder onto Chad's arm. Finally, the duo and the nurse found themselves at the door of Room 119. The nurse shoved the key in the hole and unlocked the door.

"Someone's here to see you Gina." A frail, tiny woman was sitting in a big armchair watching television. Surprised at the company, she looked up and smiled at the visitors. "You remember the rules, right Chad?" Whispering to Chad, the nurse waited for him to nod his head 'yes' and then left the room.

"Hey Mrs. Danforth, I'm Scott and this is my girlfriend Taylor." Taylor just watched the scene between mother and son play out in front of them.

"How nice to meet you both." Taylor reached out and carefully shook the woman's tiny hands. "It's so nice to have company." Minutes later, her and Chad were sitting on the bed across from his mother, having an innocent conversation about anything Mrs. Danforth pleased. Chad made sure not to mention where he went to school, basketball or anything about him at all. Taylor couldn't help but look around the room, though. The dreary walls were covered from ceiling to floor in pictures of Chad and his family. If she had ever wanted to know what Chad looked like when he was a baby, she did now.

"Where are you from, dear?" Taylor jumped at Mrs. Danforth's question.

"Um…Albuquerque." Chad hadn't given Taylor a fake personality, and so she really didn't know what to say. The lady looked at her strangely, before letting another smile spread across her face.

"You know," she pondered. "I have a son that lives there, I think." Taylor froze and looked over at Chad, who just smiled right back at her. "Yes, his name was Chad. He died a long time ago though, when he was a baby."

"Do you remember anything about him?" Joining their conversation, Chad asked the question like it was a line in a play.

"Oh yes. He was such a beautiful baby." Mrs. Danforth reached over to the table next to her chair and picked up photo album. "Here, I have lots of pictures."

For the next three hours, Chad, Taylor and Mrs. Danforth sat relishing in memories of their life when Chad was little. Taylor wasn't quite sure if what the lost woman said had any truth to it, but she was entertained nonetheless. At around six o'clock, the nurse came back and told them it was time for Gina to go to dinner at that they had to go.

"It was so nice meeting you both," A sad feeling fell over the room when it came time to leave. "Scott, she is so beautiful. Hold onto her."

Taylor blushed. "It was nice meeting you too." Leaning over, she wrapped her arms gently around the lady's neck, giving her a small hug good bye.

When it came time for Chad to say goodbye, he got down on both knees to where he was eye level with his mother. "Do you need anything? Are you comfortable?"

"Oh yes, they take good care of me here." Gina smiled down at him, "you know, you look a lot like my son. I miss him everyday." Bringing the hand he was holding up to his lips, he kissed her delicately. "Will you come and see me again soon?"

"You bet." Standing up, he gave her a big hug and began walking out of the room. "We'll be back in no time." The nurse was already helping Mrs. Danforth into a wheel chair to be pushed down to the dining hall.

"How old is your mom?" Taylor asked when he appeared at the doorway. He walked over to her and gave her a big hug, practically picking her up off the floor.

"Thirty six." With one hand behind his girlfriends back, Chad turned around and took a final look in his mother's small bedroom and under his breath, said, "I miss you too, mom. I miss you too."

* * *

_In restless dreams I walked alone,_

_Narrow streets of cobblestone._

'_Neath the halo of a street lamp,_

_I turned my collar to the cold and damp_

_When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light_

_That split the night, and touched the sound of silence. _

**Present Day**

_"How's my husband?" A frustrated Taylor stormed into the Emergency Room at Albuquerque General Hospital. People crowded around her and the doctor. _

_"Mrs. Danforth, your husband is in surgery right now." The doctor had to practically yell over the noise in the waiting room. Troy and Gabriella were standing on the left of Taylor, while Zeke and Sharpay were on the right. Behind her though, was a mass of fans waiting to hear about their beloved basketball player. Paparazzi were outside the door, some trying to squeeze in and get pictures, while members of the Lakers basketball team stood behind the doctor, listening intently._

_"What does that mean? Is he going to be Okay?" A hushed silence fell over the room as everyone, especially Taylor, waited for the doctors response._

_"We don't know. The next forty eight hours are going to be crucial… but…" _

_"But?" Taylor yelled. "But what?"_

_"Ma'am, even if your husband does survive…" He sighed, looking down at his clipboard, unable to look her in the eye knowing what he was about to say would break her heart. "Even if he does come back… he's paralyzed from the waist down."_

_Taylor nodded her head at looked at the man in the lab coat strangely. "What?" _

_"Mr. Danforth will never be able to walk again." As soon as he finished, moans and groans filled the waiting room. The Laker's members started to protest that he was a basketball player, he had to walk. Flashes of cameras and news reports were going on in the background, but Taylor didn't hear any of this. Instead when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Troy break through the crowd and head out towards the front of the hospital, she collapsed onto the floor in the sea of people.

* * *

_

_And in the naked light I saw_

_Ten thousand people, maybe more_

_People talking without speaking_

_People hearing without listening,_

_People writing songs that voices never shared._

_And no one dared disturb the sound of silence._

**present day**

Troy walked in the suffocating hospital room where Taylor was sitting, crunched up in a stiff chair, staring at her husband. His chest was rising and falling slowly, his eyes closed and body stiff. Bandages covered his face and the white sheets on the bed protected his shattered legs.

"Taylor come on," his voice woke her up out of the daze she has in, but she didn't take her eyes off of him. "Go home, I'll sit with him."

She furiously shook her head 'no.' "I'm fine. You and Gabriella go home." Troy put a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing her to finally look up at him.

"She already did. Now go home, see your kids, take a shower and come back later."

"No Troy. I have to stay here. What if he wakes up?" Her red, puffy eyes looked up at him. The blue was gone from his, but instead, he had an emotionless look on his face.

"Then I'll call you. Now go." The machines keeping Chad alive continued to click, and the heart monitor had its usual steady beat. "I need to talk to him anyways."

She looked at him sadly, before turning back to her failing husband. "I've never seen him like this. I've never seen anyone like this."

"I know."

"He's so full of life and energy, this isn't my Chad." If she had any tears left, they would surely be falling. But instead, over the course of the last two days, she had cried more than one person may cry in her whole lifetime.

"I know."

"I'm too young to be planning funeral arrangements, Troy. I'm supposed to be decorating my house for Christmas, not watching my husband die." He was the closet thing for her to fall into. So she did. She buried her face in Troy's stomach, weeping.

"I know, Taylor."

"Why did this happen to us? Why do things like this happen to us? You and Gabriella and the baby, our divorce, now this!"

"I don't know. I guess they just do."

Pulling away, she looked up at him. "Do you believe in God, Troy?" He paused for several minutes, thinking about her question.

"I don't know, Taylor. It will depend on if he wakes up or not."

"I believe. Something inside me tells me that God is the only one who can pull him out of this, you know." Troy handed her the purse that was sitting on the floor next to her, and helped lift her up off the chair.

"Well then why did God do this in the first place?" Taylor looked at her broken hearted friend, who was suffering in the misery of what happened on Thanksgiving.

"Troy…" She was so tired and weak, that she couldn't find anything to convince him of her faith. Instead, Taylor sighed and headed out the door into the hallway of the hospital. "I'll be back in less than an hour, Okay?"

"Okay." He had already taken over her seat and was watching Chad lie there, motionless.

Turning around once last time, Taylor saw Troy's empty blue eyes watching his friend die.

_And the people bowed and prayed_

_To the neon god they made._

_And the sigh flashed without its warning_

_In the words that it was forming._

_And the sign said, "The words of the prophets_

_Are written on the subway walls_

_And tenement halls," and whispered in the Sounds of Silence." _


	13. You May Think I'm A Dreamer

AN: Okay, so obviously this whole first part is just dialogue from Troy… because Chad is unconscious and can't talk. I don't really know the grammatical guidelines for writing a conversation with yourself… so I just kind of broke it up. Basically, Troy is talking out loud and is the ONLY one talking. In the flashback, however, Chad is alive and well… being his usual self.

* * *

_Imagine there's no heaven_

_It's easy if you try_

_No hell below us_

_Above us only sky_

_Imagine all the people_

_Living for today_

With one leg on the hospital bed in front of him and the other on the floor, Troy was leaning back in the hospital bed staring at his still friend. The only light in the room was that coming through the blinds on the window that overlooked a vacant parking lot. Monitors and machines beeped constantly, so much so that Troy was finally able to ignore them completely. Every now and then, a nurse would pop in the door to see if Chad had woken up yet. He hadn't.

Troy frowned at all of the flowers, cards and presents around the room. He knew that outside there were several dozen paparazzi hiding behind bushes waiting for any sort of response. If one monitor were to make a different noise, two or three doctors would be immediately in the room checking over the man's progress. It almost disgusted Troy to see how much attention his ex-best friend was receiving for being careless. He knew, Taylor knew, everyone knew how Chad was high on liquid courage that night and wrapped his car around a tree. There was nothing else to it. He was being stupid.

"How's everything going in here?" Another nurse stuck her head in the door to read the monitors and check on the patient.

"Fine." Troy just glared at her.

In between making notes on a chart and reading more test results, she looked at Troy sadly. "You know, he can hear you."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Yeah, if you talk to him, he can hear you." In her Winnie the Pooh scrubs, she turned towards the door before looking back at the confused friend. "Just say hi or something. Tell him what's going on."

Long after the nurse was gone, Troy got up from his seat and began walking around the room admiring all of the gifts. "Yeah I'll tell you what's going on," he sulked. Turning away from the garden of funeral flowers and back to his friend in the bed, he almost laughed.

"Can you hear me?"

"Hell… who am I kidding? Of course you can't hear me." Uneasily, Troy took another step towards the bed to get a closer view. He had avoided really examining Chad's practically destroyed body.

"I wish you could hear me though. Because if you could, I'd tell you how pissed off I am at you."

"Yeah, that's right. I'm mad at you. What are you going to do about it? Punch me in the face?" Troy prayed that Chad would sit up and give him a huge shiner right in the eye. He would suffer through the pain and swelling, if it meant having his friend back.

"Ha… I remember that time in Elementary school you punched Bryan Johnson in the face because he was looking at your girlfriend funny. Who was she? Oh yeah, Becca Edwards; geeze, I wonder where she is now." He took one more step closer to the bed.

"God, we were like, how old? Eight?"

"If I'm wrong, what does it matter? You're not going to sit up and tell me so, are you?" Troy took another step. "Come on, I dare you."

"You know, I'm disappointed. You used to never pass up on a dare."

"What are you, chicken?" The next step brought him close enough to see two broken legs resting on the bed. Even though a thin bed sheet covered them, Troy knew they were useless.

"I remember when you called me a coward because I wouldn't kiss Gabriella on the last day of school."

"I did it, didn't I?"

Standing at the foot of the bed, Troy waited a long time before he said what he needed to say. "I'm a coward now, Chad. And where are you?"

"I'm afraid of loosing my best friend."

"You can't pull me out of that one, can you? You can't double – dog- dare me anything." He took one step closer, this time coming to the side of the bed. He ran his hand across Chad's, feeling the IV that was pumping life into his veins.

"Damnit, man. You're my best friend. You're not supposed to be here like this. You've got a family and friends and the job of your dreams. What are you doing?"

"I'm so fucking pissed at you, Chad. You have no idea!" Troy stomped over to the windowsill and stared out the window, his back turned the bed. "You ruined Thanksgiving, you broke our wedding china…. And now this!"

"How could you be so stupid? To drive around and then drive your car into a tree!"

"Are you trying to kill us? Because you're succeeding. You've broken Taylor's heart, Gabriella's… you're children…." His voice softened and he turned back towards Chad's body.

"And now you've broken mine."

Watching Chad's chest rise and fall, Troy felt sobs began to collect in the back of his throat. "Chad you're my best friend. What are you doing? You're supposed to be here to watch your children grow up… watch my children grow up. We're supposed to teach them how to play basketball and be the womanizers we were in high school."

"I can't do that without you!" A tear dripped down his forehead, but he quickly wiped it away. "I can't show them pictures of you and say 'this was your dad. He was my best friend.'"

Finally, Troy came the closest to his friend he had since thanksgiving evening when he threw him out of the house. He plopped down on the edge of the bed, and looked at Chad's wrinkled face. He had one bandage over his eye and another on his cheek. During surgery, the doctors had reduced his once huge Afro down to a near-bald hairdo.

"Come on, Chad. Just wake up. If you open your eyes, I'll forgive you for everything you've ever done. Even in the ninth grade when you hung my clothes over the rafters of the gym and I had to run through the school naked. I promise, I'll forgive you. Just open your eyes!" Of course, he didn't wake up.

"God Damnit Chad! When you told me to try out for Varsity, I did it. When you told me to sing in that fucking play, I did it. Hell, when you told me to stick my hand up Gabriella's shirt… I tried to do it. Why can't you just do this for me? Just wake up and we'll go shoot some hoops or something."

Troy couldn't hold on any more. At last, uncontrollable sobs were pouring from his eyes. The pent up anger and hurt he had over the last six months was now falling onto the bedspread beneath him.

"I can't tell your kids what you were like Chad. I refuse to teach Matthew how to throw a three – pointer, and to chase off the creeps from Madeline. You have to do it, not me!"

"Please."

Troy wiped his tear-stained face and looked at Chad, who seemed to just be sleeping peacefully.

"I had to bury my dad Chad. Please don't ask me to bury my best friend, too."

* * *

**Senior Year**

"Hey Wildcat! Are you excited for the big game?" A very spirited Chad wrapped one arm over his best friends shoulder. Troy just laughed at him, before prying out of his arms and walking towards his locker.

"I guess so." Troy shrugged.

Chad stood there, shocked. Once again, he had a basketball tucked under one arm, and a large assortment of watches on the other. "You guess so? Troy, this is the beginning of our last season of high school ball. Hello, we're Seniors and we're going to DOMINATE!"

Troy swore he heard people cheering for Chad's pep speech. "Yeah, I guess."

"Okay, dude. What's made you all girly acting? Is Gabriella making you go shopping again?"

Leaning back on his locker, Troy sighed. "No. But Gabriella is definitely _NOT _doing something."

Chad smirked. "Still not putting out huh?"

"No, and that's none of your business." After sending Chad a death glare, Troy went back to his explanation. "She doesn't ever want to hang out anymore. She's always too busy working on homework, or college applications or scholarship stuff. It's killing me."

"Uh- oh. Looks like someone has the boyfriend blues." Chad looked down at Troy seriously, causing him to stand up straight against the locker. "Every guy that dates a smart chick gets it. I totally had it just last week."

"You mean Taylor's doing it too?" Suddenly excited that he wasn't the only one having girlfriend problems, Troy was very keen on having to hear what Chad had to say.

"Did it. She's over it now." Dribbling the ball on the ground, Chad looked up briefly up at his confused best friend. "Don't worry, it will pass."

"What did you do?"

In an instance, Chad stopped dribbling, stuffed the ball under his arm and flashed that catchy Danforth grin. "Oh it was easy. It just took some of my sweet loving and…"

Troy made a look of disgust. "Okay, I totally do not what to hear about your activities in the bedroom, if you don't mind."

"No, dude. I mean I like did stuff for her… like bake cookies, give her back rubs… took her on relaxing dates."

"Wait a second…. _You_ baked cookies?" Chad had never baked anything in his life, and Troy was very aware of this.

"Okay, so Zeke baked cookies… I just put his talent to use. ANYWAYS, you just need to do something really romantic and over the top for Gabriella." He began to resume his dribbling, leaving Troy to ponder what he had just said.

"And then what?"

Chad just smiled, still dribbling with one hand. "Then you'll have no more slump. And maybe you'll even get some."

"You worry about your sex life, and I'll worry about mine." The brunette watched his bushy aired, basketball-loving friend, dribble the ball up and down the hallway for several minutes, thinking of a plan like Chad's. Cookies wouldn't work, and neither would a back rub for Gabriella. For a second, he worried that maybe she was too far-gone in her studying slump to ever be revived.

"Oh dude, I totally have a great idea." Chad's comment caused Troy to jump out of his daydreaming.

"What?"

Smiling from ear to ear, Chad was so excited about his new plan. "So the first game of the season is tomorrow, right."

"Uh –huh."

"Well you could sing to her at the game."

"I'm sorry. Sing to her? In front of all those people?" Troy laughed. "I don't think so. She'll be so embarrassed, then she wouldn't talk to me at all."

"Loser, no one comes to the first game. And plus, you haven't shown the school your mad musical talents since last year." For the first time in a long, long time, Chad was actually making since.

Reluctantly, Troy agreed to their scheme. "Okay, so what now?"

"Well, you need something to sing… and I have the best song ever."

When Thursday afternoon rolled around, Troy was quickly regretting their little plan. Gabriella was more aggravated as ever after receiving a paper that was due on Monday. He was scared to death that being called out in the crowd would just make her angrier. Chad convinced him to do it anyways and by game time, they were both as nervous as ever.

"Chad," sitting in chairs on the sidelines of the game, Troy whispered to his friend while someone from the chorus class was singing 'America the Beautiful.' "You said that no one was coming. There isn't a seat left!" Troy wasn't kidding. The room was packed and some people were even standing against the wall.

"Well, it just means more of an audience. It's preparing you for the NBA." Chad turned his attention back to the singing patriot and waited for their queue to walk onto the floor.

Just as they had planned, Troy was to go on during half- time, giving him enough time to warm up and get rid of his nerves. The exact opposite happened, though. He was exhausted from playing, didn't have a chance to sing a note, and his nerves were definitely shot.

"Chad, I can't do this." Sitting in the locker rooms, both boys were watching the clock tick until singing time. Chad just rolled his eyes.

"And why not? Chickening out? Afraid to sing in front of a bunch of moms and dads?"

"No, dude, I haven't had a chance to warm up or anything."

"Well then go outside and warm up." Knowing they still had twenty minutes left of half time, Troy took Chad's advice and walked out the doors of the locker room. Before he got too far though, a certain dark haired girl was leaning against the wall next to the 'Wildcat' sign.

He practically fell on top of her surprised. "Gabriella, what are you doing here?"

"Coming to wish my favorite Wildcat good luck, duh." She had on a pair of faded blue jeans and a red and gray wildcat sweatshirt that she stole from Troy. Her long hair was pulled in a sideways ponytail, and the little bit of glitter she had on her cheeks made him go wild.

"You really came to wish me good luck?" It may have been that they hadn't talked much the last week, or how tantalizingly beautiful she looked, but watching her stand there made Troy melt.

She just laughed. "Why are you so surprised?"

"I don't know…" he blushed.

"Look," Wrapping her arms around her neck, she looked into his piercing blue eyes. "I'm sorry that I haven't seen you much this week. I'm just stressed out about all that silly college stuff."

He stood there taking in how gorgeous she was. She even smelled amazing. "I'm sorry too. I haven't been a very supportive boyfriend."

"And why do you think that?" Cocking her head, she looked at him curiously.

"I don't know… I choose basketball over you."

Gabriella let her brown eyes fill him up with love and happiness. "Well, I choose studying over you… so I think we're fair. As long as we make time for each other, okay?"

"I can do that." His lips met hers, and they stood in the hallway of the locker room kissing for several more minutes. It killed him that she had snuck down here, wrapped her arms around his sweaty neck and openly apologized for nothing. When they broke apart, cheers erupted from the room next door signaling the start of the game.

"I need to go back so I can cheer for you." He gave her one last hug before she began walking to the double doors that led to the gymnasium.

"You know, I was going to sing to you tonight in front of all of those people."

"I heard that. I'm glad you didn't."

"Why?" He blushed, embarrassed of having the idea in the first place.

"I don't want you too exhausted for later. Mom's gone, remember. You're totally coming over after the game." With a seductive wink, she was out the door, leaving Troy alone to daydream.

Soon enough though, Chad and the rest of the team game bursting into the hallway, pumped up and ready to go.

"So, are you ready to sing?" Chad asked, yelling over the cheers of the teammates.

"Um… I won't be singing after all." Jason and Zeke ran passed them, patting them both on the shoulder before running into the gym.

Chad frowned. "Why?"

"Gabriella came by just now and we talked. I'm going to her house tonight."

"Yeah, I know." Chad began walking towards the noisy room.

"What do you mean?"

"I called Gabriella last night and told her to come down here and talk to you. She's out of her slump, now, isn't she?" Troy could barely hear her over the pounding and banging that was coming from the game.

"Yeah… but what happened to the singing?"

Chad just laughed, "Dude, you can totally sing all you want later. Let's just go win this game."

"Well thanks, Chad." Troy stepped up and joined him at the doorway, preparing to make their big entrance.

"What are best friends for?" They pounded knuckles and looked ahead at their stage. "Now let's go kick some rattlesnake ass!"

_You may say I'm a dreamer _

_But I'm not the only one_

_I hope some day you'll join us_

_And the world will live as one

* * *

_

These chapters were so hard to write because I really wanted to show the emotion between the characters. Obviously Taylor and Troy are going to have the deepest relationship with Chad, so I really wanted to show how they are going to respond to the accident. This chapter was especially hard to write because it's so sad making Troy sad.

Anyways… thanks again for all the reviews and I hope this wasn't too confusing! So what do you think, will Chad die?

Oh yeah, PS.. sorry about the language!


	14. Sing To You Just One Last Time

_What would you think of me now,_

_So lucky, so strong, so proud?_

_Never said thank you for that _

_Now I'll never have the chance_

**Present Day**

The next day Chad woke up. Taylor was asleep in the bed next to him when the monitors rang out. Some doctors called it miraculous; others patted themselves on the back crediting science and medicine. Taylor just knew it was hope, and that it wasn't Chad's time to go just yet.

Two weeks later, he was released from the hospital…in a wheelchair. Within minutes after he had woken up he knew his legs were gone. He thrashed about in the bed, but Taylor's tears gave him enough truth. Now, he was sitting at the front door of the hospital in his moving device with a grim look on his face. He had an envelope with information about physical therapy, counseling, support groups, etc. Several balloons that were tied onto one of the handles kept bobbing in front of his face, causing him to become increasingly annoyed.

"Thank you so much, I think we can take it from here." He heard his ex-wife humbly thanks the nurses at the front desk before she appeared in front of him. "Ready to go home?" Recently she had taken up the habit of talking to him like he was a child. His mind wasn't paralyzed, just his legs.

"Are you taking me to LA?" They had only shared a few words together, but no one spoke about thanksgiving or offered an apology.

She looked at him confused. "Why would I take you to LA? You're going home with us."

"I want to go to my home." On his own, he began spinning the wheels beneath his hands, heading out the front door.

"Chad you need our help. You're coming home with us, okay." She was chasing behind him, arms full of his belongings.

"Stop talking to me like I'm a baby, Taylor." He kept forging ahead, now driving out into the parking lot. "I don't need your help. I'm going home."

She stopped and stared at him. "Chad you can't walk. How are you going to take care of yourself?"

"Like I have for the last year. You're not my mother, Taylor. I don't need you to baby me."

Taylor just stood there trying to decide whether to run after him or go get a nurse. "Your mother didn't baby you PERIOD."

He kept on rolling, reaching the edge of the driveway and onto a broken sidewalk. "Whatever."

"Where are you going?" Several people in the parking lot seemed to be surprised by her yelling across the road. "You can't wheel your way to Los Angeles, Chad."

"Watch me!" He yelled back at her, still focused on pushing the wheel chair down the road.

Minutes later, Taylor was steering her big, black navigator slowly down the right hand lane watching her tormented husband. Not daring to drive faster than he could roll, she just let the cars honk and drive past her. Finally, about one mile into his marathon: Chad stopped. She slammed on the breaks so hard it was surprising that no one rammed into the back of her.

He cupped his face in his hands and was sobbing when Taylor walked over to him on the sidewalk. "Chad?" she asked carefully.

"What?" His anger and sadness, mixed with tears, startled her.

"What happened?" Instead of saying anything, he lifted his head and showed her his now blistered palms. Rough calices were sprouting up, and a few had already turned into festering blisters. She took a step closer to his chair, before sitting down on her knees. "Come home with me, please."  
He shook his head 'no.' "Why should I? I don't deserve your help."

Taylor felt her bottom lip quiver. She had never, EVER, seen Chad Danforth cry before. Even when his mother died four years ago, he didn't cry. But now, he was like a child crying over a boo-boo.

"Chad, you don't have to earn my help. I want to help you."

"Why?" He frowned. "I've been so awful."

"Because Chad…" Delicately kissing one of his sore hands, she gleamed "that's what you do when you love someone."

"I can't do this Taylor." Chad was looking down at his weak legs.

"Yes you can, I know it. Now lets go home, Matthew and Maddie are there waiting on you." Some how, the mention of their children seemed to make him even more upset.

In between sobs, he confessed "I don't want people to see me like this."

"Chad Danforth, you look at me. Troy and Gabriella have been worried sick over you. I mean literally, Gabriella got the stomach flu from staying at the hospital. Troy's blaming himself, and every one else is just all around upset. Now you need to show them that you're gong to be okay." She relaxed her voice. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Taylor," after a long pause he looked at her. She had a huge set of dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a mess and she genuinely looked distraught. "I'm so sorry…for everything. I never meant things to happen like this."

And then it happened. Taylor's heart was mended. Her sadness disappeared and elation filled her heart. She no longer had any pent up anger or hurt from everything that had happened.

"That's all I ever wanted to hear, Chad. That's all I wanted to hear." She let one last tear fall down her cheek before vowing never to cry again. Grabbing the handles of his wheel chair, she pushed him to the car. "So I think we're going to need to make some improvements to the house… and car… and everything. But I'm pretty sure we can do this."

If Taylor had turned around just then, she would have seen a smile escape Chad's lips.

_May Angels lead you in _

_Hear you me my friends_

_Oh sleepless roads, the sleepless go_

_May Angels lead in_

Chad's friends welcomed him home with warm greetings and enthusiasm. Even though he could tell they were putting on a 'happy face', he appreciated it all the same. Gabriella was the first to walk up to him, like always. She was the same Gabriella as ever, quick to forgive.

"Hey sweetie," she smiled. "Zeke and I made you a huge dinner… I know your starving. Hospital food is the worse thing ever." Showering him with hugs and kisses, Chad felt really guilty for all the suffering he had caused her. "I'm so glad your home Chad, stay with us this time, okay?"

Sharpay and her baking husband were next in line. Her huge, swollen belly got in the way of her bending down to give her friend a hug, instead, she kissed him on the forehead. "Listen, this little guy…or girl… has to have an uncle Chad. I mean _everyone_ has to have an uncle Chad."

Zeke joined in "yeah man, plus I'm going to need your mad parenting skills."

After Jason and Kelsi said their hellos, three people were standing at the back of the line on the doorstep of Taylor's house. Troy was holding Maddie in his arms and holding onto Matthew's little hand. The trio looked very apprehensive about going up and saying anything to their loved one. But as soon as Matthew saw his daddy, he ran up to him like always, giving him the best greeting of all.

"Daddy!" He squealed. "Daddy where were you? Mommy said you had a boo-boo. The last time I had a boo-boo, Mommy kissed it and made it better. Did she kiss it for you?"

The group of friends laughed, "Not yet," Chad smiled. "I'll be sure to ask her to later." When he looked up, Taylor was blushing a light shade of pink.

"Daddy can we play basketball now, please? Mr. Troy taught me a new move, I want to show you. Please daddy, please!" Everyone fell silent afraid of how Chad was going to respond. There had been no mention of basketball over the last few days in fear of upsetting him.

He was definitely not going to cry in front of his friends, so instead Chad just frowned. "Listen buddy, Daddy can't play basketball for a while. Until he gets better… so you're going to have to play with Uncle Troy and Zeke and Jason, okay?"

"I missed you daddy."

"I missed you too buddy." And then, Matthew leaned forward and kissed Chad right on the cheek.

"I love you daddy." Climbing off of his fathers lap, the little boy ran over to his mother's arms, who picked him up in a huge hug. Chad suddenly remembered his best friend that was standing there holding his daughter in his arms.

"So um… Troy." But before he could finish, Troy walked over, plopped Madeline in his lap and interrupted him.

"You want to come inside and get something to eat? It smells really good."

"Uh, sure." Chad stuttered. And then, Troy walked behind him, grabbed the handles of his wheel chair and pushed him inside the house, without another word.

_And if you were with me tonight_

_I'd sing to you just one last time_

_A song for a heart so big_

_God couldn't let it live_

_

* * *

_So yah'll are pretty much the best. No lie. You have no idea how much it meant to get all the help and suggestions from everyone! If I could give you guys presents, I totally would. I have something you can participate with, though. Ryan is in a broadway musical right, well I totally need a good one to be included in the story! And don't worry-- you'll definetly get a shout out .. or your name may be used as a character! So just let me know in your review the name of your favorite musical. This is going to be a BIG part of the story--- cough cough future. mrs. zac. efron. ... so please participate!

Also, I really want to thank everyone-- and it's so hard to do... Anyways, I've added all of my favorite stories to my profile.. and everyone should really take a look. (A lot of you are actually the authors) Seriously though, their writing is like 10 times better than mine and you should really check it out!

Thanks again-- look for three very good, fluffy upcoming chapters! okay!

Also, Troyella fans-- you are about to have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! ;)


	15. A Christmas Wish

Hey guys, just to let you know you are AMAZING! The reviews from the last chapters were incredible!_

* * *

_

It's always the same at Christmas

_When love comes alive around the world_

_We open up our hearts when love is in the air_

_It seems such a shame to me_

_It's the season that comes only once a year_

**Present Day, December 22nd**

"What do you think, does this look right?" Troy was standing on the top of a ladder outside Taylor's front porch, hanging Christmas lights across the roof. Chad was watching him below, making sure his friend didn't fall, or worse, make the lights crooked.

"Umm… a little to the left." Taylor had asked Troy to come over and help put the outside decorations up, as it was usually Chad's job. This year she was trying to so hard to make sure this was a happy, joyful Christmas.

Troy frowned. "We've been going over this for an hour, Chad. I think your head is crooked."

"It might be." Chad turned his chair around and began wheeling himself into the house. "Come down then."

Troy didn't mean to hurt his friend's feelings, so he hoped off the ladder and followed Chad into Taylor's living room. "What'd I say?"

"Nothing." It made Troy sick to watch Chad move around the kitchen so awkwardly. It was a chore for him to just fix a coke.

"Chad what's wrong?"

While he was pouring the drink into a glass, just a little spilled onto the counter. However, Chad's frustration exploded. "Damnit." He muttered under his breath.

Out of instinct, Troy rushed over to the counter and tried to help his ailing friend.

"Stop it." Chad yelled in rage, grabbing the man's wrist and shoving him away. "I can do it on my own." Troy just stood back and watched as Chad sloshed a wet towel around the counter, making a much bigger mess.

"What's the deal, man?"

Angrily, Chad spun around and looked at his blonde friend. "I hate how all of yah'll are babying me. I'm not a child."

"We aren't babying you?" Troy contested.

"Bull. I'm surprised Taylor hasn't started putting me in diapers." Cautiously, Troy made his way over to the messy counter, but Chad stopped him once again. "I'm not kidding Troy. I'm fucking tired of it."

"We're just trying to help, Chad."

"I don't need your help, damnit!" His rage was a little too much for him, so he had to stop yelling and take several deep breaths. Finally catching his breath, he finished. "I hate feeling guilty because you guys are so nice and patient."

Troy paused. "Why do you feel guilty?"

"I may have been wasted, but I remember everything about Thanksgiving. Every time I look at Gabriella I hear her dishes shatter and every time I look at you, I can see how mad you were at me."

"What are you talking about?" Chad had his head bowed, unable to look at Troy's pondering stare. "We forgot about all of that, Chad."

Chad screamed again. "Why Troy? Why?" Afraid of passing out though, he started to calm down. "I just wish you would get mad at me and yell at me or something."

This time, Troy dropped his head. "I can't get mad at you Chad. No matter how pissed off I was that night, or how much you heart Gabriella or Taylor. I can't get mad at you?"

"And why the hell not?" Chad asked, angrily.

"Because I'm afraid that you won't be here tomorrow. I saw you in that hospital bed, Chad. We all did. And I think that's why we forgave you and forgot about Thanksgiving." Troy paused, rubbed his eyes and then finished. "We can't facing loosing you again."

Chad was stunned. His best friend openly admitted that he needed him. "Troy…"

"No, I think you're being pretty selfish asking us not to help you. It's time you stopped acting so big and impossible and start admitting that you need our help." Now he was staring at his friend long and hard.

"Okay." Chad breathed. "I didn't know…"

Troy grinned. "Well now you do." Before Chad could protest or push him away, he wiped off the counter top, threw the towel in the sink and began heading outside.

"Where are you going?" Chad asked.

"To go finish the decorations. Christmas in two days."

From across the house, Chad yelled. "Hey Troy?" His friend stopped, and turned around.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." Chad had managed to roll over to the door where Troy was standing.

"Chad… you don't have to…" Before his best friend could protest, Chad had already started talking again.

"Look, I do have to." He paused. "I'm sorry for missing your birthday, and I'm sorry for ruining thanksgiving. Most of all though, I'm sorry that you've had to stick up for me these last few months."

Troy stuttered, "it's okay."

"No it's not. And I promise that I'm going to work on this, okay." Wiping his eyes, Chad was sure not to have Troy see him crying. "I'm scared shitless, man, and I'm gonna need you around."

Troy felt resolved when he turned around to look at Chad. "Look Chad, it's going to be alright. We're going to have a great Christmas and an even better new year, okay?"

This time when Chad nodded yes, his big afro didn't follow. "Do you think I can grow my hair back by Christmas?"

"I doubt it. But we could totally get you a wig." Troy helped him wheel over the steps that led out to the front yard.

"Nah that would freak Tay out too much."

Troy was climbing up to the top of the ladder again, while the boys were cutting up. "Hey Chad," he said, halfway up to the roof.

"Yeah?"

"Where were you on my birthday?"

Chad frowned. "Doing something I shouldn't have…"

"Oh," Troy continued climbing. "Hey Chad?"

"Yes Troy?" He couldn't help but laugh.

Dwelling for a moment, Troy stammered, "Don't scare us again, okay?"

_So let's make a Christmas wish together_

_Lets hope the best of dreams come true_

_Lets make the spirit last forever_

_that is my Christmas wish for you_

Usually around this time of year, Gabriella would be running in and out of shops finishing up her Christmas shopping. Today, however, she had to skip shopping and head to the doctor's office to find out the cause behind her stomach irritations. After arguing with Troy that it was just the stomach flu for several weeks, she finally relented and agreed to go get a check up. Upon hearing about Sharpay and Taylor's big shopping day, though, caused her to really regret her decision.

"Gabriella Montez," she said to the lady at the receptions desk. After filling out the required paperwork, she walked over and sat down on a stiff chair in the waiting room. With everything that had gone on in the last few weeks, she was really tired of visiting doctors.

While she was making a scratch list of the remaining things she needed from the store, a little boy walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. "What's your name?" he asked innocently.

She looked at him startled. "Gabriella. What's yours?"

"Gabriel." He wasn't over four years old, but have the nerve of a teenager. In his little overalls and sweatshirt, there was no denying he was adorable. "How old are you?"

"You know, you're not supposed to ask a lady her age." Gabriella giggled. "But I'm twenty eight. How old are you?"

"I'm going to be four on December twenty fourth." He gleamed, sticking his chest out and holding up four little fingers. "That's Christmas eve, so mommy says I get twice as many presents."

"Well I like how your mommy thinks." Gabriel climbed onto the seat next to Gabriella and began playing with her hair. "Where is your mommy?"

Thinking he was going to point to a lady in the waiting room, but instead he frowned "my mommy's sick, she has to get a shot."

She grimaced, suddenly feeling sorry for the little boy. "I'm sorry, sweetie."

"That's okay." He shrugged. "Are you sick?" For a few minutes, Gabriella had completely forgotten about her stomach flu.

"Well, maybe. That's what I came to see the doctor for." Until the doctor came out, she continued talking to the little boy. She came to discover that he was very smart in math, knew a lot about Christmas and had asked Santa for a fire truck. A nurse interrupted their innocent conversation, summoning Gabriella into an examining room.

"By Miss Gabriella," he smiled up at her, flashing a toothless grin. "Merry Christmas!"

She turned around and smiled back at him. He was practically glowing with excitement. "Goodbye to you too Gabriel," she waved. "And have a very Merry Christmas."

"Who were you talking to?" The nurse asked once they were in the doctors room. Sitting on the cushioned table, Gabriella stared at her oddly.

"The little boy. He was so cute." Now it was the nurse's turn to exchange a strange look.

"What little boy?"

Gabriella was now thoroughly confused. "Gabriel. Didn't you see the little boy out in the lobby? Brown hair, blue eyes, about three feet tall?" The nurse was reading the dial on the blood pressure and just shook her head.

"Sorry, I didn't see a little boy."

The brunette frowned and looked down at her stomach uneasily. "Maybe I really am sick."

_If I can give any gift thing I wanted_

_A present to every boy and girl_

_I'd make it a miracle that came from God above_

_I'll picture of peace on Earth_

_Where the person is judged by the power of love

* * *

So, if yah'll get the allusion in the chapter then there will be some .. cough foreshadowing cough... for what's going to happen. If you figure it out, let me know! I'd love to see who's reading between the lines! Also, I'm going to try and get the next chapter up by Saturday-- but it definetly won't happen before then!_

So what do you think Troy will get for Christmas?


	16. It's Coming On Christmas

_It's coming on Christmas,_

_They're cutting down trees._

_They're putting up reindeer_

_And singing songs of joy and peace,_

_Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on._

**Senior Year, Christmas Eve**

"Troy where are we?" Holding onto his hand, Gabriella was standing in the middle of a dark room. At least it was dark to her, as she had a blind fold covering her eyes. "Troy?"

Standing behind her, untying the bandana, Troy whispered "Shhh. On the count of three open your eyes."

"Okay." Gabriella shivered feeling his breath on her neck.

"One."

"Two." She joined him, giggling. His warm breath against her ear made the hair on her arms stand straight up.

"Three." When Gabriella opened her eyes, the once dark room turned into an illuminated ice skating rink. The glistening white ice before her shined like the stars in the sky.

"Do you like it?" Troy was standing at her side now, watching her smile with excitement. "Your mom told me how you used to love ice skating."

She beamed. "Troy I love it. Thank you… but…" Suddenly her smile turned into a frown, "I haven't skated in years."

"Well Gabriella Montez." Taking her hand, he led her carefully out onto the middle of the rink. "Now's your chance. We have the whole place to ourselves." A pair of suede ice skates was sitting at her feet.

"How did you do this?"

"Let's just say that the guy that owns the rink is a Wildcat fan."

"Oh?" Laughing, she put her hands on his hips and looked at him mysteriously.

He shrugged his shoulders "yeah, and I just have to win every game for the rest of the year. Big deal."

Gabriella felt the color rise to her cheeks. "Troy! You didn't have to do that. This is too much and my gift is nothing like this." She didn't know if she was embarrassed from his lavish gift, or the pathetic one she had for him.

"Watching you do something you love is enough of a gift for me." Troy kissed her cold cheeks and then sat down on the ice. "Plus, I've never done this before. So I'm probably going to need some lessons."

Giggling, Gabriella smiled. "I don't see a teacher around here anywhere?"

"Oh I do." His blue eyes winked at her before focusing on lacing up one of the skates.

Really, Troy didn't do much skating that night. Unfortunately for him his magic footwork only worked on the basketball court, not ice. Never mind that, he had a brilliant time just sitting and watching Gabriella skate. They spent a little while laughing over his pathetic abilities, but then he settled down in a gum filled plastic chair, untied his shoes and watched her dance around the rink.

Sometime after midnight, Gabriella glided over to him where he sat, mesmerized. "Ready to go home, slippery?" During their lesson, Troy somehow earned the nickname 'slippery.'

"Are you?" Before he could stop himself, a yawn fell out of his mouth. "I'm not tired."

She was already untying the skates. "It's okay. I'm sure our parents are having a fit. I shouldn't have taken so long."

"Don't apologize. You looked amazing out there." Troy reached out and grabbed one of her gloved hands and began walking out of the building. "So can I get my present now?"

Gabriella sighed. "It's lame… I'm embarrassed to give it to you now." Hand in hand, the duo was walking towards Troy's lonely truck in the parking lot.

"Nonsense. I don't care if you got me socks and underwear, I'll always remember it's from you." Pulling the door open for her to his truck, he helped her step up into the bench seat.

"Why would I get you underwear?" Gabriella was shivering from head to toe inside the cold car. Luckily, Troy's heat worked perfectly after he turned on the ignition.

The boy laughed. "Never mind it was a joke. Now, where's my present?" Apprehensively, his girlfriend began digging through her big purse until she finally pulled out a small, square box.

"As usual," handing it to him carefully, Troy looked like a little boy on Christmas morning. "This has a story behind it."

Undoing the perfectly tied red ribbon, he chuckled. "Baby, all of your presents have stories behind them."

While he was unwrapping the gift, the brunette continued. "I know that we've been kind of avoiding this issue… but… even if we aren't together next Christmas, you can look at this and remember our trip we took to Denver."

Troy had wanted to argue with her about their future, but instead he was too busy staring at the beautiful snow globe he held in his hands. Delicately, he shook the small circular glass and watched artificial snowflakes dance on the rooftops of the miniature buildings.

"Gabriella, it's amazing!" He beamed. Sure, it was a small gift, but to Troy Bolton it was the best Christmas present he had ever received. Even beating last year when he got the car they were now sitting in.

Gabriella smiled; excited to see he was pleased. "To be honest, I just can't believe that someone actually put Denver in a snow globe." Troy shook the magical ball one last time, before leaning across the seat and kissing her on the lips.

"You're cold," he breathed. Neither of them realized that they had spent half an hour admiring the gift.

Something tingled in Gabriella's stomach. "I'll be fine," she whispered. He kissed her again…and again…and again, until finally she pushed him away. "Let's not go too far." When she noticed is disappointment, Gabriella couldn't help but feel guilty for ruining the mood. "You know, my mom won't mind if you spend the night tonight and that way we could have breakfast together in the morning."

Troy's face lit up, "under one condition?"

"Huh?"

Putting the car into gear and pulling out of the parking lot, he smiled back at her. "We have to put out cookies and milk for Santa."

Gabriella exploded with laughter. "Oh definitely, and don't forget the carrots for Rudolph." She dropped her head on his shoulder and watched Christmas pass outside the window. Houses were decorated with lights and inside children were sound asleep waiting to see what Santa had brought them in the morning.

"Hey Gabriella?" Troy's voice was at a whisper; even the radio was louder than him.

"Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Troy." In her opinion, it had been a very merry Christmas.

* * *

_He tried hard to help me,_

_He put me at ease._

_Lord, he loved me so naughty,_

_Made me weak in the knees._

_Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on.

* * *

_

**Present Day, Christmas Eve**

"Okay, so who should go next?" In a Santa hat, Troy was sitting on the floor next to the Christmas tree handing out presents. Like always, the group of friends had gathered at the Bolton household to celebrate the holidays. Gabriella and Zeke prepared an extravagant meal. Now, the festivities had relocated to the living room, specifically beneath the decorated blue fir which held tons of presents.

"Um, I think Gabriella should. She hasn't opened one yet." Chad spoke up. Carefully maneuvering his chair around the stack of gifts, he wheeled out of the room and into the foyer. "Troy can I get your help?"

Troy jumped off the floor, dumping a pile of ribbons out of his lap, and followed his friend out of the room. A few moments later, the men appeared; this time though, Troy had a huge box in his hands.

"Wow Chad, you got Gabby a house." Zeke's comment stirred up laughter in the group and a smile from Gabriella. Chad, however, smirked and wheeled over towards his best friend's wife.

"Chad, you didn't have to get me anything." Grinning, Gabriella began undoing the roughly tied bow onto of the box. Literally, the huge box was almost to her waist and her arms only went halfway around.

Chad smiled, placing his hands in his lap and watching her intently. "Yes I did. Believe me, I had to do this." Underneath the reindeer themed paper was a solid brown cardboard box.

"Wow Chad, what I've always wanted: a box!" Once again, Chad didn't laugh at the jab against his gift, but instead handed her a butter knife to tear the tape. The gang was watching her weed through the tissue paper and dig through the box.

As soon as the first piece of tissue paper fell, so did Gabriella's tears. In her tiny had she cupped a beautiful, porcelain cup. Its intricate flowery design was flawless and the beautiful pastel colors meshed perfectly against the ivory stone.

"Chad, this is my…" Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, but Chad just smiled.

"Your wedding china." He interrupted. Gabriella's hazels eyes were glued onto the small dish in her hands. Everyone else gawked at such the generous present. "All of it, the complete set. There are even some pieces you were missing."

Everyone was all smiles when Gabriella looked up at her friend. Even though she had a strand of tears dripping down her cheeks, she was elated. "Chad this is perfect."

"Thanks, Gabby. You deserve it." Bending over, he too began digging through the box and helping her unwrap the exquisite pieces.

The rest of the evening was spent opening presents, joking around and story telling. By eleven o'clock, Matthew was begging to go home and get ready for Santa Claus.

"Gabriella, Troy, Christmas was perfect." With a protective hand over his wife's huge belly, Zeke smiled at his friends. Everyone was standing on the porch of the Bolton household, looking towards the sky for any signs of snowflakes.

"Thanks, Zeke. If it weren't for your and Gabriella's cooking though, no one would come." The crowd laughed before returning to the peaceful silence.

With her sleeping little girl on her hip, Kelsi spoke up "so we should probably get going. Merry Christmas guys and we'll call you tomorrow." Jason followed suit and said his farewells, before turning towards their parked mini-van.

"Yeah, we should get going too." Taylor and Chad followed suit, kissing their friends goodbye and walking down the path towards the driveway. "Say thank you, Matthew." She instructed.

"Thanks Mr. Troy and Mrs. Gabriella." The squirming little boy could hardly wait to go home and get ready for Santa Claus.

Troy fell to his knees so he could be eye level to the blue eyed baby. "Remember Matthew, if you listen real close you can hear hoof prints on the roof tonight, okay?" Matthew flashed a set of beautiful pearly whites before running to his father.

"Call us in the morning Taylor; I can't wait to hear how it goes. And remember, take lots of pictures!" Gabriella's voice rang out across the lawn to her friend. Taylor just turned around and waved, before continuing to put Matthew in his car seat.

"So I guess we should go too." Sharpay sighed. Zeke wrapped an arm around the small of her back and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"You two could stay if you'd like." Even though the invitation was warm and enthusiastic, both couples were ready to end the evening and bid each other adieu.

Sharpay smiled. "Nah, this is our last Christmas alone. So we're going to spend it wisely. Thanks anyways." Waddling over to her friends, she enveloped Gabriella in a hug and whispered in her hear. "Good luck."

Gabriella just gave her an awkward look.

"Gabriella Montez Bolton, I can read you like a book." The pregnant friend finished. "Congratulations and don't worry. You're secret is safe with me."

Turning towards Troy, Sharpay said sweetly, "Merry Christmas Troy. I'll see you on, New Years, okay!"

Troy laughed, "Merry Christmas to you too Sharpay." He and Gabriella waved goodbye to the duo until they had long driven out of sight. "So Mrs. Bolton, what do you want to do now? We could catch some Christmas specials on television."

Lacing her fingers in his, she smiled. "Actually, I was wondering if I could go ahead and give you my present. I mean, I know we usually wait, but…"

"No, no. I'm perfectly fine with opening gifts early." Like a child, Troy raced towards the tree that stood perfectly in the living room.

Gabriella laughed out loud. "Troy, you are worse than Matthew when it comes to presents." Already taking his designated spot on the floor, her husband slipped on the Santa hat and looked up at her bashfully.

"What can I say? I love presents!"

It took Gabriella several minutes to rummage through the remaining gifts to find the two small boxes hidden in the back of the tree. Also, she couldn't help but laugh every time she looked at Troy who was practically drooling with anticipation.

When she handed him the boxes, he almost looked upset. "Wow, they're awfully small."

"Well, good things come in small packages." Gabriella smiled, before sitting Indian style on the floor next to him. "So what are you doing around June 17th?" She was nervous with anticipation, but excited all the same.

"Um… moving, I guess. Why? Do you have something in mind?" Troy shook one of the boxes next to his ear, but when no sound was omitted he smiled. "Oh we're going on vacation! Like a cruise! These are plane tickets!"

Tickled, Gabriella cupped her hands around his and looked at him in the face. "No, Troy. It's a lot better than a cruise or vacation."

"Okay…"

"Go ahead, open them." She urged. Once again, Troy ripped through the paper and popped open the lid of the small white box in haste.

"Wow, Gabriella… I don't think these are my size." Both boxes contained a pair of miniature Nike basketball shoes.

A smile spread across her face, "I know that silly. I just thought you could get a head start with their training?"

"Who's training?" Interested, Troy picked up one of the small shoes and admired it carefully.

Leaning forward, Gabriella pulled two square pieces of paper out of her back pocket and handed them to her confused husband. "Their training."

Troy looked down at the shoes and then at the piece of paper and then up at his elated wife. "Gabby…."

"On June 17th you're going to have two new basketball stars to coach." The second time that night, tears began to spring out of the corner of her eyes.

"Two?"

"Two." Still holding onto the shoes and ultrasound pictures, Troy leaned over and kissed his wife on the lips. "Merry Christmas Troy, we're pregnant!"

_It's coming on Christmas,_

_They're cutting down trees._

_They're putting up reindeer_

_And singing songs of joy and peace,_

_I wish I had a river I could skate away on.

* * *

Alright guys, the next chapter is going to be Christmas morning. Does anyone have any ideas on what Troy should get Gabriella for Christmas? Suggestions are definetly appreciated!!!_

Look for the next chapter around Wednesday-- hopefully!

Have a great day!


	17. Remember When

Christmas Day, present

"Troy, Christmas was amazing." Sitting at the bar in their kitchen, Troy and Gabriella were sharing a holiday breakfast, soaking in the day and the love in the room.

"Yeah, but I think I got the best gift of all." Bringing the cup of coffee to his mouth, he smiled.

"And what's that? New underwear?"

"You." His bluntness caused her to blush, of course. "I mean, what more could I ask for? You and these guys." Instinctively, he let his strong, nurturing hand fall to her flat stomach.

Gabriella laughed before pushing his hand away. "You're not going to touch my stomach every minute, are you?"

"You bet. Do you have a problem with that?" After hoping off the stool, he grabbed her hands and helped her jump off.

"Nope. I love it." While Troy was collecting plates, Gabriella rested her chin on her hands and smiled. "You know, you forgot to play your song for me!"

"Who said I forgot?" he asked defensively.

"Well to be honest, I kind of forgot too. Up until recently, it hasn't been a real singing kind of year." Gloomily, Gabriella walked into the living room, plopped down on the loveseat and starred at the Christmas tree.

Troy followed her, but instead of joining her on the couch, he sat down on the fireplace next to the tree. "I think we have a lot to sing about, actually." Resting her head on the arm, she stretched out against the couch and watched him pull the guitar out from behind the tree.

"I haven't heard you practicing." She accused.

"Good thing, too. This probably isn't going to be any good." He began strumming randomly on chords, warming up his fingers.

"I'm excited. This is the best present." Gabriella watched and Troy closed his eyes, began humming softly and picked out his tune.

"I would wait before you say that." He winked. "Are you ready?"

Nodding, she looked at him with delight. "You bet."

"Ladies and Gentlemen." Troy put on his best fake-announcer voice, "this afternoon, for your listening pleasure, Grammy award winning singer Troy Bolton will be performing this classic hit, "Remember When" by the one and only Alan Jackson."

"Grammy award winning?" She laughed.

"Shhh. Listen." And then, as perfect as ever, Troy closed his eyes, strummed the guitar and let his mesmerizing voice fill the room.

_Remember when I was young and so were you_

_And time stood still and love was all we knew_

_You were the first, so was I_

_We made love and then you cried_

_Remember when?

* * *

_

_Remember when we vowed the vows, and walked the walk_

_Gave our hearts, made the start and it was hard_

_We lived and learned, life threw curves_

_There was joy, there was hurt_

_Remember when?_

"Mommy, daddy, wake up! Santa came!" Jumping up and down, Matthew was trying furiously to wake up his sleeping parents. After staying up well into the night wrapping gifts from 'Santa,' Chad and Taylor had both passed out at around 4:15.

Groggily, Chad rubbed his eyes and looked up at his bouncing son. "Whoa buddy. Calm down."

"Daddy Santa came. There are lots of presents!" Laughing, Chad rolled over to his side and began maneuvering his limp body on the wheelchair.

"Okay, Matt. Wake up your mother." The little boy crawled up to where his Taylor's face was buried in a pillow and covered her cheek with a sloppy, wet kiss.

"Eww, gross. Chad stop it!" Moaning, Taylor flung her arms out in the air and squirmed around. "It's too early." Chad laughed and Matthew giggled furiously.

"Mommy, come on! It's kwiss- mas." Matthew began tugging on Taylor's arm and eventually she reluctantly climbed out of bed.

Chad just sat there grinning. Taylor's air was flying in every direction and she had huge, dark circles under her eyes. In her reindeer pajamas and hot tamale socks though, he thought she looked pretty amazing. Especially since she stayed up all night trying to make this Christmas special for her children.

"All right, Matthew run ahead and wait by the tree. Chad get the camera and I'll go wake up Maddie." At six in the morning, Taylor was already giving orders. "Right after I brush my teeth."

Matthew squealed and raced into the living room where masses of presents were waiting to be opened. As soon as Christmas morning had begun, it ended. Paper was thrown across the room, toys were already broken and Taylor was counting the minutes until she could go back to bed. The family was sitting at the table, chewing on warm pancakes when Taylor remembered about one last present.

"Oh hey, Matthew. I think we forgot something." Both the little boy and Chad looked at her strangely. "Outside, why don't you go on and see?" Anxious to see what final gift Santa had left, he hoped off the stool and ran out the front door of the house with just his socks on.

Chad eyed her strangely before turning around and following his son. "I don't remember another gift for Matt."

"Who said it was just for him?" Taylor hinted. When they reached the front of the house, Taylor cupped her hands in front of his eyes and pushed his chair over to the driveway.

"Taylor, what are you doing?" He laughed.

"Who ever said Santa doesn't come see grown ups was wrong." Pulling her hands away, Chad was able to clearly see the basketball goal standing in front of his face.

"Taylor…"

"Don't worry, it's adjustable. Comes with a remote control. This house just isn't complete without one." Bending down on her knees, she came just below eye level for him. "Kind of like it is when you're not here."

"Daddy can Mr. Troy come over and play basketball later, please?" Matthew beamed in the background, but Chad just waved at his son, not taking his eyes off the beautiful figure before him.

"Thank you Tay." He flashed that Danforth grin she knew all too well.

"Merry Christmas Chad. I'm glad your home."

"Merry Christmas," Leaning forward, he kissed her ever so gently on the forehead. "I'm glad to be home."

_Remember when old ones died and new were born_

_And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged_

_We came together, fell apart_

_And broke each others hearts_

_Remember when?

* * *

_

Long before Taylor and Chad were even up, Sharpay's cell phone rang vigorously on the corner table next to her bed.

"What the?" Zeke groaned while rubbing his eyes. "It's 3:30." But his wife was already half way out of the bed and flipping open her phone.

"It's okay baby, I got it. Go back to sleep." Slipping on a pair of house, Sharpay began sneaking out of the bedroom.

"Who's calling you at 3:30 on Christmas morning?" Zeke asked angrily.

"Ryan, my brother. Now go back to bed." Satisfied, Zeke smiled and fell back into the pillow.

"Hey bro, how's it going?" Sharpay's voice was raspy and soft, but her enthusiasm was definitely evident.

"Good, how are you? How's the baby? How's Zeke? Geeze, how's everybody?"

"We're all fine. The baby is doing great. You're going to be here for the birth right?" Sitting on a chair in the kitchen, she was hanging onto his every word.

"I'm trying Shar. Listen, I'm sorry to have called so early. I'm at hair and make-up for the parade." As she listened closer, she could hear lots of people talking the background and occasionally Ryan would give orders to some lady.

She smiled. "That's fine, I'm just so glad to hear from you. Gosh, it's been at least a month."

"I know, I'm sorry. How are you, Sharpay? Be honest." The lights on the Christmas tree danced around the walls and she rested her arms on her stomach.

"I'm fine, Ry. Don't worry. I just can't wait to see this little guy."

"Guy? It's a boy?" Ryan's voice picked up.

He could also hear her smiling from the other side of the phone. "Yeah, but don't tell Zeke. He doesn't want to know. Something about the biggest surprise of your life, who knows?"

Ryan just laughed.

"But guess what. He's going to have your name. If that's okay?" Sharpay got up from the chair carefully and began waddling towards the Christmas tree.

"Man, sis. I'd be honored. Thanks. And I promise, I'll be there for the birth." His assurance was the best gift Sharpay would get that Christmas.

"So tell me about the parade?"

"Oh well, you know, it's only the biggest thing ever. Plus I'm going to meet Matt Lauer. I'm so excited!" he sighed. "But listen Sharpay, I'm going to have to get going. It takes three hours to put this suit on, you understand."

"Yeah, I do. I'm coming up there in January to see the show. I can't wait. I hear its fabulous." Very quickly, Sharpay felt as if nothing she could say would keep her brother on the phone longer. He was giving out more and more orders to people around him and the background noise became increasingly louder.

"I can't wait. You're going to love it. Have a good Christmas, okay, Shar. Love you!" He said quickly.

She was hurt. "I love you too. Hey Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Shar." And then he hung up the phone, leaving her standing by the Christmas tree all alone. Her eyes were fixed on the small, white lights that danced across the green branches. Tears began to tickle her eyes when a tall figure approached her.

"How's Ryan?" Her husband asked encouragingly.

The tears threatened to fall. "He's fine. He says hello." Her bottom lip quivered and she fell into his chest. "Will you just hold me?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

_Remember when the sound of little feet, was the music we danced to week to week_

_Brought back the love, we found trust_

_Vowed we never give it up_

_Remember when?_

Maine may have received the most feet of snow in history this Christmas, but that didn't keep Anne Bolton from celebrating the holiday. Granted, her small cabin in Bar Harbor may have been chilly and stiff, but the fireplace sent a blaze of warmth throughout the house.

With a bottle of champagne and homemade fudge for dessert, she sat on the couch the most of the evening watching home videos from past Christmases. This holiday had gone just as it had the last three years, sleep late, go for a walk, have a warm steamy breakfast and spend her afternoons playing with her dogs or reading. At approximately 5:45 she picked up the phone and called Troy and his wife and received some very outstanding news. She stayed on the phone with her son and daughter in –law for a while until they excused themselves for 'young people' celebrations. Of course, she promised she'd be there in January and couldn't wait to go baby shopping.

Now, images of Troy as a little boy on Christmas were blaring in front of her. She was licking her fingers when one particular video popped up on the screne. There he was, her deceased husband talking to the camera. Troy was thirteen this Christmas, and Anne remembered vividly how this was the year he and Chad got tickets to go to basketball camp that following summer. Their only child, Anne and Jack had strived to ensure that their little boy had the best Christmas possible every single year. Of course, he always did.

Her husbands face disappeared and the camera moved around the disheveled room of their old house. Preteen Troy was on the phone with presumably Chad and was gloating about all of his new presents. Off to the side though, the love of her life was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and dinning room.

"Hey mama," he chuckled. In his strong hands was a cup of coffee, steam pouring over the rim.

"Say something inspiring Jack. Our grandchildren may watch these one day."

"Grandkids? Troy's going to be too busy playing in the NBA to have kids." He came closer to his wife who giggled like a young girl.

"Don't say that. He's not going to play basketball forever." The camera panned back and forth surveying the room.

Jack sighed. "I'm too old to be a granddad."

She giggled in her thirty something voice. "Don't worry; I doubt Troy's going to have kids anytime soon. He doesn't even have a girlfriend yet." Anne pushed him off of her back towards the other end of the door frame. "Now seriously, say something nice."

He sat there thinking for sometime, before flashing that smile that she fell in love with so long ago. "Troy… or grandchildren… whoever's watching this. Find a great woman, because with great women come great men. Like your mother or grandmother; she's a great woman."

Anne turned the television off and looked up at the mantle where several pictures of her husband were resting. She hated the holidays because she wasn't able to spend them with him. And now, with the babies, she was going to find it even harder to not have their grandfather around. Sighing, she poured herself another glass of champagne and took a piece of fudge out of the box.

"Oh, Jack. You were a great man long before I came a long. Merry Christmas."

* * *

_Remember when thirty seemed so old_

_Now lookin' back, it's just a steppin' stone_

_To where we are, where we've been_

_Said we do it all again_

_Remember when?_

"Troy that was perfect." Gabriella looked at her husband with two eyes full of love and adoration.

He blushed, "thanks. I thought it would be awful."

"You will never sound awful to me." He put the guitar back in the corner and joined her on the couch. "I think we had a pretty good Christmas."

"Me too." Kissing her cheek, they sunk down together in the couch and reflected on the day. "And just think, next year we're going to have two more people to share it with."

"I know, I can't wait. Do you think they'll like us?" Gabriella's head was resting on his shoulder.

He was surprised by her insecurities. "I think they're going to love us. We're pretty hip."

She laughed. "The fact that you just said 'hip' brought our coolness down a lot." Sighing, she continued "I just hope they like us, I mean really like us. I hope we're good parents."

Troy jumped off the couch, grabbed both her arms and began pulling her to her feet. "Listen lady, you're going to be an amazing mother. No one can tell you otherwise. Now come on, we have a couple of hours before we need to be at Taylor's and I have some big plans for us!"

_Remember when we said when we turn gray_

_When the children grow up and move away_

_We won't be sad, we'll be glad_

_For all the life we've had_

_And we'll remember when.

* * *

Okay guys, so that didn't turn out as good as I had hoped.. I'm sorry. I promise New Years eve will be much better!!!! Sorry it took so long to get it up (school's getting pretty busy these days) but look for the next chapter sometime this weekend!_

Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are amazing!


	18. You Had Me From Hello

_One word, that's all you said,_

_Something in your voice caused me to turn my head._

_Your smile just captured me, you were in my future as far as I could see._

_And I dont know how it happened, but it happens still._

_You ask me if I love you, if I always will..._

Senior Year

"So do you have any big plans for tonight?" Ms. Montez said to her daughter from across the living room. The duo had just finished their annual cleaning job and was recovering with some homemade smoothies and pizza.

"Nothing. I'll probably go to sleep before the ball even drops!" Sighing, Gabriella jumped up off the couch, collected her dirty dishes and fled into the kitchen.

"Why? Where are all your friends? Just because Troy's out of town doesn't mean you can't have fun, Gabi."

Gabriella sighed at her mother's bothersome compassion. "I know that. My friends all have other plans. Chad and Taylor are having some romantic evening, Sharpay and Ryan's family is out of town, of course. And quite frankly, I have no desire to hang out with the basketball team by myself."

"What about Kelsi? Or your other friends?"

"Kelsi goes wherever Jason goes and well, I don't know about the rest." Gabriella was rummaging through a tin of cookies and fudge, suddenly feeling very sorry for herself.

Her mother sighed, "you and I could go out? Get dressed up, go to a nice restaurant, stay out late?"

"No offense mom, but that's not exactly what I had in mind for New Years Eve." Instead of picking out a few snacks and carrying them up stairs, Gabriella grabbed the whole tin and tucked it under her arm. "I'm just going to finish college applications and call it a night."

"You're going to miss all of the stuff on television?"

"Call me when Dick Clark comes on, and I might consider coming downstairs." Quickly, Gabriella left the room without another word from her mother.

When she finally reached her room, the only thing she knew to do was fall down on her bed and groan loudly. Rubbing her face, she realized that she was the only seventeen year old in New Mexico who didn't have a date on new years. Her only option was writing papers on how she was going to change the world in five years, or hang out with her mother. Right now, the only thing she wanted to really do is get mad at her friends for abandoning her on the holidays.

And the longer she sat on her bed, staring out into space, the more mad she got. She was mad at Troy, especially. He had practically abandoned her the day after Christmas.

_"Gabriella, I have to go. My family always takes a trip this time of year. You understand, don't you?"_ He had said from across a booth at Mcdonald's. Stupidly, she agreed and now she was more angry than ever.

At around eleven forty-five, Gabriella walked downstairs to refill of the strawberry smoothies, but instead found her mom fast asleep on the couch. Carefully, she tip-toed over to the television and turned off the obnoxious celebrity drunkenly proclaiming his love for someone else.

"Mom, come on, wake up." Gabriella whispered in the dark. With no luck, she threw a blanket on top of her sleeping mom and went back upstairs, completely forgetting about the drink. "Great, my mom won't even celebrate the new year with me."

She was humming the tune of the classic New Years song when she walked into her bedroom. This time, instead of plopping on bed, though, she walked straight out into her balcony in hope to catch some fireworks from the neighbor's celebrations. Instead, she found something much more exciting than fireworks.

"Shit!" Gabriella squealed. Seeing the dark figure standing at the corner of the balcony practically made her jump out of her skin.

"Whoa, watch your language young lady. I think I've been a bad influence on you." The stranger came towards her, this time allowing the moonlight to accent the shape of his face.

She huffed, trying to catch her breath. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Denver or California or something?"

"Massachusetts." He corrected her before taking another step out of the corner. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Putting her hands on her hips, Gabriella walked to the exact opposite side of the deck. "That's all you can ask is 'what's up?' How about 'how was your holiday?' or maybe even an 'I've missed you'?"

"Okay, you got me. I missed you Gabriella." The way he said her name gave her the chills. "Did you miss me?"

"Nope. Not at all." Even in the dark, she knew he was frowning. "I actually had a really great five days. Hung out with the gang, met some boys, you know the drill."

"Gabriella, you can't tell a lie to save your life." This time, he took one big stride which landed him right in front of her face. His eyes flashed in the night and made her feel weak, like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "Now tell me the truth, did you miss me?"

She gulped. "Maybe just a little."

"Just a little, huh? Well then I guess I'll just go away more often."

"Fine."

"Come on, just admit it Gabriella." Their noses were touching and lips were just centimeters from colliding, but she held her ground.

"Admit what?" Her bottom lip quivered. At this second, she wanted nothing more than to fall into him and kiss him passionately.

He laughed, cheekily. "Admit that you missed me."

"Why? You didn't miss me that much, I'm sure. Hanging out with those girls, no supervision…" But before she could finish, he kissed her. Right there, on her balcony on New Years Eve, their lips met.

When they broke apart, her eyes were smiling into his. "Why would I want anything else to do with any other girls when I have you?"

"You wouldn't." Fireworks exploded in the background and the moon was falling behind the trees; 2007 was quickly approaching.

"I love you Gabi and I missed you so much, I made my parents come home two days early."

"Tell them I said thanks."

Leaning into kiss her again, he whispered "I will tomorrow. But I want to be with you tonight."

"Hey Troy?" She moaned. "I missed you like crazy."

"Good."

* * *

_Well, you had me from hello_

_I felt love start to grow the moment that I looked into your eyes,_

_You won me, it was over from the start._

_You completely stole my heart, and now you won't let go._

_I never even had a chance you know?_

_You had me from hello_

**Present Day**

"Hello?" Gabriella's groggy voice blared threw the receiver. She had just walked into the door of her house and barely had time to turn the light on when her cell phone vibrated furiously at the bottom of her purse. "Oh hey babe!"

Her one and only answered kindly from the other end, "hello wife. How are you?"

"I'm good. What's up?" Some how managing to take off her coat, scarf, gloves and hat, she maneuvered her way into the kitchen. "How's basketball camp going?"

"We're good. I'm hanging in there, I miss you!" Troy's voice warmed Gabriella's cold body.

Hoping on a bar stool, she crossed her legs and fell into the conversation with her husband. "Do you think they're ready for the championship game? Have you told them yet?"

"I think we've got a chance to win it, and no, I haven't told them yet. I'm going to wait until after the game." He smiled. "How are the kids?"

"Well… they're fine. Baby number one says hello and baby number two can't wait to see you tomorrow."

"Are you sure it's not you who can't wait to see me tomorrow?"

Gabriella giggled, "Okay, you caught me. I'm guilty, I miss you." Her voice became soft and delicate.

Changing the subject, he asked "so what did you do today?"

"Umm…cleaned house some, made black-eyed-peas, had dinner with Tay and Chad."

"Yum, black eyed peas; sounds amazing. I'm sorry I missed it."

"I'll make you a big pot when you get home." She promised. "What did you do today?"

Troy sighed, before continuing. "Well the usual. Basketball, more basketball and once again, basketball."

"Sounds… fun!" She added sarcastically. Gabriella climbed off the stool and walked into the living room with her cell phone still glued to her ear. She couldn't help but stop when and admire several of the pictures hanging on the wall from their wedding and other memorable occasions. "I miss you Troy. This is like, our anniversary almost."

"I know. I can't stand being away from you anymore."

"What are we going to do next year when you travel all the time?" Honestly, Gabriella hated thinking about the idea of Troy leaving every other week for a game, but of course she couldn't tell him that.

"You can come with me."

She laughed accidentally. "And drag two babies halfway across the country? I don't think so."

"It was just an idea." In the background, she could hear other people yelling and fooling around, which made her slightly jealous that she couldn't be there celebrating with him. "What are you going to do tonight?"

"I have some sewing I need to finish, probably watch the ball drop."

"Wow, you really know how to celebrate in style. Don't hurt yourself, now." Troy continued to pick on her. "What's your resolution going to be? Slow down?"

She stuck her tongue out, even though she knew he wasn't there to see. "Actually, I'm not making a resolution this year."

"What? Why? You have to make a resolution."

With one hand holding the phone to her ear, she began sliding off her heeled shoes and unzipping the back of her skirt. "Why? I made one last year and I didn't stick to it, so why should I even bother?

"I guess you're right… what was your resolution last year?"

"To have more sex with my husband."

"What?" Gabriella could feel him blushing through the fun. "You could have told me. I would have definitely helped you stick to that one."

Now it was her turn to blush. "Too late now. What about you? What's your resolution?"

"…to stop staring at beautiful women while they're undressing."

"What?" Freezing in her spot, she stood half naked in her bedroom with an angry look on her face. "I beg your pardon?"

Troy had to suppress a laugh. "Oh yeah, I have a major problem. Like right now for instance, I'm drooling over this beautiful woman who only has on a black slip and a lacy, ivory bra."

"Troy Bolton I swear to God…" But then she stopped, finding it kind of strange as how he knew what she was wearing. "Oh yeah, well what does she look like?"

"Oh she's the most amazingly, gorgeous woman I've ever laid eyes on. She has silky brown hair, stunning hazel eyes and a smile that can kill."

"Sounds like someone I know. And where is this woman?"

"In my bedroom, waiting on me."

"Well that's strange, I'm standing in your bedroom and I don't see anyone like that."

"Oh, I do." Slowly, Gabriella turned around and found him standing on the deck of their balcony, cell phone in his hand, grinning from ear to ear.

She raced over and unhitched the door and quickly swung them open. "What are you doing here? What happened to basketball camp?" He had already started rubbing his hands all over her body and kissing her fervently.

"We left earlier this afternoon. Surprise!" She was taken away by the amount of passion he was pouring into her. His strong hands were running around her frame, his lips burned into her skin and stomach was churning in anticipation.

"I can't believe it. This is amazing." He stopped midway to her stomach and looked into her eyes before kissing her hard on the lips.

"Why not? New Years Eve is like, our day."

"Yeah? I didn't know that."

Picking her up, Troy carried her slowly to the bed before setting her down gently. "Did you know that I met you ten years ago today?"

"Has it really been ten years?" Gabriella couldn't help but be astonished. At the same time, memories of that life changing evening came flooding back to her. "And you haven't changed a bit."

"I'm just a little older." He grunted. "But I've loved you ever since."

"Huh?" Their passion had subdued to him placing tiny kisses on her belly, obviously intoxicated with the growing people inside of her.

He looked up at her with his blue eyes. "I fell in love with you that night, and haven't stopped since."

"You fell in love with me?" Tears began to fill her eyelids.

"You didn't know that? Gosh Gabriella, I fell in love with the moment I heard you sing." Her heart swelled.

"Troy, I changed my mind." He looked at her strangely while unbuttoning the dress shirt he was wearing. "I am going to make a resolution."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. I'm going to resolve to love you everyday for the rest of my life."

"Weren't you going to do that anyways?" Troy carefully fell on top of her, starring into her eyes.

"Yes." This time, Gabriella helped him pull off the undershirt he was wearing.

"You know, I think you should go back to the other resolution. Not that I don't like this one, but I mean, we can always have more sex."

"Well, how about we make both, then?" Gabriella felt his hands run up and down her legs.

"I'll agree with that. Now, I think we should ring in the New Year properly, don't you?" Grinning, Troy kissed her once more on the lips waiting for a response.

"Oh yeah!"

"Good, now take off that bra and let's get to work!"

She fell into a fit of laughter. "Happy New Year Troy."

"I love you Gabriella."

_Thats all you said_

_Something in your voice caused me to turn my head_

_You had me from hello_

_You had me from hello_

_Girl, I've loved you from hello_

_

* * *

_

**Hey Guys--- sorry it took me so long to update. Just to give you a heads up, things may seem nice now-- but get used to the idea of being sad!! I'm sorry, but I just have too. Also, I'm going to go ahead and warn you that things are sooo busy right now w/ school and everything, but I'm really trying. I usually work on this before I work on homework! Yikes! Moving on, I need more name suggestions... so please, give me a hollar!!**

**Love yah'll **


	19. Like A Candle In A Hurricane

_You feel like a candle in a hurricane  
Just like a picture with a broken frame  
Alone and helpless, like you've lost your fight  
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright  
_

**Present Day (whole chapter)**

"Come on guys, let's hit the road." Troy was standing on the doorstep to Taylor's house, waiting impatiently on Sharpay and Zeke to say goodbye. "If we don't watch out, we're going to hit traffic."

It was bright and early, at around 6:45 and the guys were taking a special adventure just for Chad. Sharpay, Taylor and Gabriella were going to spend the day doing some final baby shopping and spend the afternoon throwing away their husbands money.

"Just chill, Troy. I'll drive if you don't want too." Zeke snapped back at his friend. Everyone was having a hard time being up so early, especially Zeke who was already exhausted from labor pains.

Sharpay had her hands on her hips and was staring angrily at her husband. "Don't worry, Zeke, I'll call you if anything happens. But I doubt anything will. I'm going to be pregnant for the rest of eternity." Her pink velour suit was skin tight against her huge stomach. Two days passed her due date was too much for Sharpay. Gabriella couldn't decide if Sharpay wanted the baby to come or her enlarged stomach to disappear.

"Alright, Gabriella, keep an eye on her." Zeke was walking backwards towards Troy's car and giving directions to the women. "Don't eat too much, Sharpay and don't go to a mall or anything where you have to do a lot of walking around."

"SHUT UP ZEKE!" It was possible that Sharpay's yelling woke up the entire neighborhood. Zeke shuddered, but turned around and climbed into the backseat of the Bolton's new SVU.

Once on the road, Troy turned around and looked at Zeke who was halfway asleep in the back of the car. "What was that all about?"

"Ugh, Sharpay's hormones. She's crazy; I'm going to have to lock her up if this baby doesn't come soon." Taking a sip of the 'strong coffee' that Gabriella had made from him, he sighed. "You're lucky you get to adopt kids, Troy. You won't have to go through this pregnancy thing."

Jason and Chad nodded in agreement, but Troy scowled. "What are you talking about?"

"No offense, but you don't understand. A pregnant wife is a guy's worst nightmare. She's needy and demanding and bitchy." Zeke groaned.

Jason spoke up from the driver's side, "oh, wait until delivery day."

"I was there, Jason! Nothing bad happened." Troy said furiously.

"You weren't in the room though," This time, Chad spoke up. "Wait until you see… its so…"

"…Disgusting." Jason finished. "You won't ever want to have sex again!" Even though this discussion was intended for Zeke, Troy couldn't help but feel nervous.

"That's not possible." Troy said firmly. He couldn't imagine.

"Yeah, we waited a year." Jason's comment sent an array of moans from the car before Chad waved his hand up in the air.

"Okay, that's enough about your sex life, thanks." On a lighter note, Chad finished. "We're just saying adopting kids isn't the worst thing in the world. Plus, you're kind of like, saving a child."

Luckily, they were at a red light or else the car would have driven itself off the road at Chad's sensitive comment. "Where did that come from?" Troy asked, in shock.

"I'm just saying-adoption isn't a bad thing." Chad just shrugged his shoulders like what he was saying was not a big deal. "So have you and Gabriella decided anything? Did you get the papers back?"

"Umm…" Troy stuttered. He and Gabriella had decided to wait to tell their friends, and he was trying to find a way to answer Chad's very personal question. "…nope, no papers yet."

From behind his seat, Zeke patted Troy's shoulder. "Don't worry, man, I'm sure you'll hear something soon."

Silence settled over the group for several minutes and the men sat there, with their minds buzzing in thought. Finally, Chad interrupted with the question that had been bothering him all morning. "Where the hell are we going? And when are we going to get there?"

"Right… now." On cue, Troy pulled into a parking space located in the front of a large workout gym.

"Troy, I may be crippled, but I can still bench more than you can. Did you drive all the way here to embarrass yourself?" Zeke and Jason had already climbed out of the car and were digging around in the trunk for their gym bags.

"You wish old man." Troy laughed. "Actually, we're here for you." The two guys appeared to Chad's side of the car, with basketballs tucked under their arms.

Chad frowned. "I don't think so…"

"Sorry, we're not taking 'no' for an answer." Zeke shoved an orange ball in their friends lap. "You're not going to lose you're game just because you can't walk."

"You've been sitting around sulking for two months now. It's time to get back on the court." Jason added frankly.

Chad looked up at Troy who had two bags slung over his shoulders. It was almost like Chad was begging for Troy to take him back home.

"I can't walk, how do you expect me to play basketball?" The three guys were already walking towards the front of the gym.

Troy turned around smiled. "Who said you had to be able to walk to play basketball?"

* * *

Close to eleven, the girls got had climbed into Taylor's Navigator and were well on their way to the mall. Gabriella sat in the back with a grim look on her face, scanning her eyes over a magazine. 

"Gabs, what's wrong?" Sharpay had caught onto her friends' dismal enthusiasm about the trip and forgot about her own suffering long enough to ask.

"Nothing." Gabriella responded coldly. She turned back to the page she was reading talking about the latest beauty products. "I'm just tired." She did yawn, but it wasn't enough to convince her friends.

"Bull." Taylor interrupted. "Now spill."

It took a long time for Gabriella to admit what was bothering her, but with some persistence from her friends, she finally confessed. "Troy and I bought a house yesterday."

"Oh." Taylor frowned. Sharpay let out a small cry and Kelsi, who was sitting next to Gabriella, reached over and grabbed her friends hand.

"I know, it sucks." Gabriella sighed. "I don't want to move, really. But I can't tell Troy that. He's so excited and we're going up there next week to start painting some rooms and he's picking out furniture for the…" But she stopped herself and looked at her friends' concerned faces. They were still sitting in the parking lot of the mall.

"Gabriella, if you tell him, maybe you could stay." Kelsi kindly suggested. But Gabriella was already shaking her head no.

"I could never do that to Troy. This is his dream." Small tears were leaking from the corner of her eyes. "He's chosen me over basketball so many times, I couldn't ask him to do this. Besides, the house is already paid for."

Taylor spoke up, "Gabs, Troy would always choose you over basketball, and you can always get the money back."

"No, Taylor. I promised him. I'm just going to have to move on." Her eyes fell back onto the magazine and she used the side of her arm to wipe away the unwelcomed tears. "It's okay, right. I mean, just because we move away doesn't mean we'll stop being friends?"

This time, Sharpay spoke for the group. "Gabriella Bolton, how dare you think like that? You could move to the moon and we'd be the best of friends. We'll be on your doorstep for Christmas just like always, no matter where you live." Her assurance caused Gabriella to giggle slightly and smile.

"Well, this house is huge, so you guys will all fit." This sparked some interest out of the somber girls. "It has five bedrooms."

"Holy smokes!" Taylor sighed. "That's bigger than Chad's house in LA!"

"Do you have a picture? Or a flyer?"

"When can we come and help decorate?"

"How far will you be from the city?"

"Are the schools good?" Questions began flying and soon everyone was buzzing with excitement. Gabriella pulled out the flyer of the house from her purse and began in detail describing the floor plan.

"There's a big backyard, and a neighborhood pool. Umm, it's really close to the school so Troy won't have to drive a long way" She smiled, as her friends were hanging on every word. "And wait until you come see it. The master bath is huge and the master bedroom has a balcony, of course!"

"Well that's a must," Taylor smiled.

With several 'oohes and awws' she started to feel excited about her new chapter, especially knowing that her friends will always be her friends.

* * *

"Guys, it's really rude that you're going to play basketball while I just sit here and watch." Chad scoffed. They quartet had weaved through the parking lot and were now standing in the entryway of the gym. Tons of people were running around to designated exercise areas. 

"Who said you were going to watch?" Jason asked.

Zeke walked behind their friend, grabbed the handles of his chair and pushed him forcefully through the door. "Quit complaining and just see what's going to happen." Chad scowled, but didn't say another word.

Once inside, Troy and the rest of the group found themselves in the midst of a morning basketball practice. Most of the players were around ten to twelve years old, but occasionally there were some older and some younger. All of them, however, were throwing balls around… in wheelchair, with a smile on their faces.

"Chad…I'd like you to meet the Albuquerque Razors." Turning away from his friend and facing the basketball players, Troy spread his arms out in front of him and smiled wildly. "They're going to be your new basketball team."

"What?"

The rest of the group let Troy finish the explanation. "We're tired of you sitting around all day, so you're going to learn how to play basketball… in a wheelchair… and be good. And I'm going to be you're coach."

While Zeke, Jason and Troy we're all grinning from ear to ear, Chad had a very angry look on his face. "What the hell do you think you guys are doing? Running my life? I'm not ready to play basketball okay? And I'm certainly not going to sit on my ass while doing it!"

"Chad, we just thought…" Zeke's calm, rational explanation was cut off by Troy.

"Sorry, Chad. But you're not going to get our sympathy for this one. You're playing." Troy's eyes were staring firmly into Chad's. Both men looked like little boys that were fighting over a new toy.

Chad huffed, his cheeks red. "I'm going to walk again one day, Troy. I'll play basketball then."

"Oh yeah? Prove it." Jason and Zeke were stunned. Both men were hoping that Troy would just lay low and let Chad make up his own mind about this. If he didn't want to play, he didn't have too. But instead, Troy was about to push their friend over the edge.

"What?"

"Prove it."

"Troy…." Chad scowled. "Prove what?"

"Prove that you're going to walk again. Stand up, come on. Show us… walk. I want to see you walk right over and grab the basketball out of number 13's hand." Troy crossed his arms and waited for his friend to act.

Everyone really hoped that Chad would hop out of his chair and prove Troy wrong, especially Troy. But nothing happened and Chad didn't even try because he knew it was hopeless. The doctors and scientists had said that he would never walk again, and they were right.

"I can't…" His face dropping, Chad stopped yelling and felt embarrassed for failing in front of his friends.

"Well, here's your chance to play ball. You were born to play, Chad. Walking or not." Troy walked over and sat down on one of the bleachers, crossed his eyes behind his head and watched. "I'll wait until you come to your senses."

Zeke and Jason followed suit, leaving Chad sitting angrily on the court. "Anytime you're ready Chad…"

Two hours later, the three men had gone to grab some lunch from the snack bar and Chad was still sitting there suffering. It was not until a young girl, around fourteen years old threw the ball in his direction.

"Sorry about that." She yelled across the gym. Chad just let the basketball sit on his lap, afraid to even touch it. "Hey, thanks man." When she came to his side, she snatched the ball right from him and smiled.

"You're welcome…" Chad said. The girl continued to smile while twirling the ball on her finger. "You're really good; I've been watching you out there."

"Oh, thanks. I was a lot better before… well…" But she didn't stop smiling or twirling the ball. "My names Rebecca, point guard."

"Nice to meet you. I'm…" But the girl interrupted him.

"Chad Danforth. I know who you are. I think it's really cool you're out here. Was that Troy Bolton that was with you earlier? He's such a dream boat." Laughing, Chad completely forgot the anger he was suffering from earlier.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to tell him that." He turned to the girl. "How long have you been in your chair?"

She stopped twirling the ball and let it drop in her lap. "Six years. I was eight when it happened."

"Oh?"

"Yep. It was summer vacation and I had just learned how to dive. Stupidly, I dove straight into the shallow end and broke my spine in six places." Upon hearing her story Chad winced.

"I was in a car accident."

Rebecca smiled again. "I know. Hello, you're famous. I'm one of your biggest fans. Two years ago my dad took me to a Lakers game. We had courtside tickets, it was amazing."

Suddenly feeling guilty for being such an asshole to his friends earlier, he frowned. "So is playing ball like this easier or harder?"

"Oh, it's definitely harder. I mean- you have to learn how to maneuver and weave in and out. There are a lot of collusions too, yah know?"

"Yeah, I bet."

She smiled once more. "It's so much fun though. When I had my accident, I thought I was depressed for months because I thought I wouldn't be able to play ball ever again. This is a dream."

Several other team mates were screaming in the background, obviously wanting both their ball and their point guard back on the court.

"Sorry." Turning halfway around, she waved back and him and said a final goodbye. "My team wants me on the court. I hope you'll decide to play. We have a big game coming up next week against the Santa Fe Wolverines. We could really use your help."

Chad felt suddenly very excited about the idea of playing in a real basketball game again. Granted, it was nothing like playing NBA, but at least it was a game.

"Yeah, see you later." He waved back at his new friend. "I'll get Troy to send you over an autograph." Smiling at him one last time, she wheeled away to join her teammates in practice.

It wasn't much longer after that when Troy, Jason and Zeke arrived. Arms full of nachos, hot dogs and beer, both men were stunned beyond belief when they walked into the court. Chad was no longer in the position where they left him earlier, but instead, he was across court tossing the ball into a deserted basketball goal. Carefully, they approached him and were even more surprised when they saw him smiling.

"Change your mind?" Troy asked, grinning himself out of excitement for his best friend.

"Well, let's just say--- I've had a change of heart." Chad tossed Troy the ball, who then tossed it back to Zeke, who tossed it to Jason, who finally threw the ball to Chad who made a perfect shot.

* * *

Sharpay and the rest of the girls had had much less of an exciting afternoon. After only two hours of shopping, Sharpay was complaining of swollen feet and back problems, so they went back to Taylor's house to watch chick flicks. Halfway through a fourth slice of greasy, meat-lovers pizza, the blonde started feeling several growling stomach pains. 

"Ugh, guys. This is awful. Taylor do you have any pepto bismal?" Sharpay sulked. With one hand on her stomach, she pried herself up off the couch and waddled into the kitchen.

"Yeah, second cabinet to the right. But can you take pepto bismal when you're pregnant?"

"I don't know." Gabriella shrugged her shoulders and Kelsi had gone to take care of her daughter, Melody.

"Guys, I have to do something." It took several minutes for Sharpay to waddle back into the living room and fall down on the couch awkwardly. "This is killing me."

Taylor giggled. "Maybe the baby's mad at you for eating all that pizza."

"Well, I'm mad at the baby." Sharpay yelled, frustrated. "Get out baby, get out! Please, get the hell out of my uterus!"

Gabriella and Taylor looked at her shocked. "Sharpay don't yell at you're baby!"

"I just wish he would come out already. Doesn't he know how much he is hurting mommy?"

"Sharpay, just give it a rest. He'll come out when he is good and ready!" Still laughing, Taylor almost drooled coke onto her white blouse.

Frowning, the blonde gave a look that could kill. "I'm tired of waiting. We've tried everything! Eggplant parmesan, spicy foods, even SEX! I'm ready for him to come out!"

"Just calm down!"

"Come on," Sweetly, Gabriella tried to relax her friend. "You've just made such a nice home in there for him, he doesn't want to leave."

On the side, Taylor added "can you blame him? The he'd have to put up with Sharpay's screaming every day."

Sharpay just glared at the both of them. "I guess you're right. But I'm telling you…" And then she stopped, grabbed her stomach and gasped.

"What? What happened?"

"What's going on?"

When Kelsi returned, both girls had their eyes on a very awkward looking Sharpay. "Did you kill her?"

"No…worse. My water broke!" Immediately, Gabriella jumped up off the couch and rushed to her friend's aid, who was now huffing and puffing accordingly. "Oh my gosh, someone call my husband!"

"My couch!" Taylor squealed, noticing the wet spot where Sharpay was sitting.

"I need my overnight bag… and pillow… and the baby's stuff. OOOOOh!" With one arm over Gabriella's shoulder, Sharpay's weight was pushing down Gabriella.

"What about Melody? She just went to sleep?" There was so much noise and everyone was running around like crazy in the living room, that Gabriella had no choice but to stand on Taylor's coffee table and scream.

"Everybody quiet!" Taylor, Kelsi and Sharpay suddenly fell silent. "Now… lets take this one step at a time. Kelsi, call the guys and tell them to meet us at the hospital, then take the kids over to my moms house and drop them off. Taylor, go grab a pair of sweat pants out of your closet that Sharpay can wear and throw a towel over the spot on the couch. Me and Sharpay are going to slowly make our way out to the car where I'll call the doctor." She paused. "Does everyone understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Now—get to work. We have a baby to deliver people!"

* * *

"Whoa, Zeke don't run!" Troy was yelling after his friend who was racing down the hallway, weaving in and out of patients. "Sharpay hasn't had the baby yet!" 

Finally, the group of anxious men arrived at the registration desk and Zeke tried to ask for directions to his wife's room. "Shar—sharpie..."

"Sharpay Evans?" Speaking for his friend, Troy asked the kind nurse for the room number.

"112" The boys run down the hallway, reading the numbers on the doors. But it wasn't necessary, for a loud, ear piercing scream exploded the halls.

"That's her!" Zeke ran ahead of the rest of his friends and soon joined his wife's side.

Fourteen hours later, the gang once again welcomed another member to their family. Jordan Chad Baylor came into the world just as excited as his mother was to finally meet him. With a head full of tiny black curls and two baby blue eyes, he was welcomed with several tears of joy and happiness. After being passed around the group several times, Sharpay and Zeke were left alone with their soon to grow with the idea of being parents.

Exhausted and excited for their friends, Troy and Gabriella walked hand in hand down the hall towards the parking garage. On the way, they stopped by the nursery and peered into the glass window to admire all of the newborns.

"We're going to be here in a few months, you know?" Troy smiled at his wife.

"I know. I can't wait."

"You know, we need to think of names."

"Yeah? What do you think?"

"Justin? Jacqueline? Josephine?"

"Troy," Gabriella laughed. "Those are awful."

"Okay, you do better then."

"Alright… Brittney, Bethany, Bobby, Bailey…." For the rest of their walk down the hallway, Troy and Gabriella continued discussing names and dreaming about their future.

_'Cause when push comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend 'til you break  
'Cause it's all you can take  
On your knees you look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad, you get strong  
Wipe your hands, shake it off  
Then you stand, then you stand_

* * *

Sorry it took so long to update, yah'll. But this chapter took a long time. Take note of Sharpay's baby's middle name. That's some major foreshadowing. Get some tissues ready for the next chapter-- Troy's about to make some bad decisions!

Catch ya later!


	20. Face Down in the Dirt

**This chapter is dedicated to Dancerlittle--- she has pretty much stuck right by my side and has given me the best advice! I don't know what I would have done without her lately! Also, she's a genius and her story is great--- so everyone should definetly check it out. It's called Sweethearts. (She updates A LOT faster than I do). Anyways-- doll, this is for you! You're amazing!**

**

* * *

**

_Hey girl, you know you drive me crazy._

_One look puts the rhythm in my head._

_Still I'll never understand why you hang around._

_I see what's going down._

**Senior Year, Championship Game**

The halls of East High school were empty except for one boy who was leaning against a locker; his hands running through his hair and a cross look on his face. Troy was waiting impatiently for his girlfriend to round the corner, on her way to an early morning Scholastic Decathlon practice. He looked up at the clock on the wall and then back down at the tile floor.

"Troy, what are you doing here so early?" Upset that voice of the intruder wasn't Gabriella's, he frowned and looked up at Mrs. Darbus.

"I'm waiting on Gabriella." He was in no mood to deal with the teachers antics.

"Oh. Are you going to be audition for the musical next week?" In Troy's opinion, she was way too excited this early in the morning. "I really think you and Gabriella will fit perfectly for the leads."

"We'll think about it Mrs. Darbus." He didn't mean to be rude, but it was just too early. "I promise, we'll talk about it."

Before throwing her scarf around her neck, Mrs. Darbus looked back at Troy and smiled. "I'll be looking forward to it. Good luck at your game, Mr. Bolton."

As she walked away, Troy realized that he was all by himself again, standing in the hallway. He pulled out his cell phone hoping there was a text message or missed call from Gabriella, but there was no luck. Turning away, he almost gave up and was going to throw some baskets when he heard her beautiful voice appear behind him.

"Hey wildcat, where are you going?"

"I was about to give up on you." They met and locked in a gentle, good morning kiss.

"Sorry, babe. It was just so hard to get out of bed this morning, you know?"

"Do I ever. But you look gorgeous, really." The short skirt she had on flowed just below her knees and a beautiful ivory sweater hugged her small frame.

"So what's up? Are you nervous?" Carefully, they slid down the wall and sat on the cold, hard floors. She rested her head on his shoulder and wound her fingers within his.

"Can you keep a secret?" He whispered, as if there were people around that would hear. "I'm so nervous I'm sick."

"Why? You're going to do fine. I know you're going to trample those…"

"Rattlesnakes." Snickering, he felt somewhat better due to her enthusiasm.

"Right, rattlesnakes. Well, anyways. You're going to win and do amazingly!" Gabriella continued playing with his fingers.

"Oh yeah? I don't think so."

"I do." She paused, admiring his strong hands. "You have amazing hands, do you know that?"

"Huh?" Confused at the change in subject, he pulled his right hand away from her and tucked it under his arm.

She smiled. "You have such strong, powerful hands." Pulling on his arm, she retrieved his hand and began rubbing her tiny fingers over his. "These hands could do anything they want."

Overcome with emotion, Troy turned to Gabriella and kissed her passionately. They remained that way for several minutes, kissing each other in the middle of the hallway and destroying his nerves.

When the bell rang signaling the beginning of homeroom, they pulled apart, lips numb and smiled sheepishly.

"Are you going to be okay?" Carefully, she stood up while making sure her skirt didn't reveal anything private. "You could always go home and relax?"

"I'm leaving after lunch. But I'll be fine, just nervous."

"You sure?"

He smiled. "Yep, I'm going to go to my dad's office now though. So go on ahead to home room and tell Darbus I'll be late."

Nodding her head, she turned around to walk to class, but was soon pulled back into Troy's arms. "Gabriella, I love you so much, you know that right?" Kissing him again, she escaped while his tongue explored the inside of her mouth.

"What was that for?"

"I have no idea…would you wear my jersey tonight?"

Rubbing her lips, she laughed. "Of course, why would you even ask?"

"Just promise me you'll be there?"

"Troy," she looked into his eyes, "I'll be there. And I'll even come by the locker rooms before the game begins."

"I love you Gabs."

"I love you too, now I've got to go or I'm going to be late."

_Do you feel like a man when you push her around?_

_Do you feel better now--she falls to the ground._

_Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end_

_As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found._

At fifteen minutes until game time, Gabriella snuck down the hallway to the gym, passed the janitors closet and swept into the door of the boy's locker room. Most of the team was already on court warming up, but one special boy was sitting on a bench trying to get rid of his nerves.

"Troy?" She asked, peeking over corners in search of his familiar face. When she heard a rustle and a cough, she looked in one stall and found Troy sitting there with a dazed look on his face.

"Gabriella? What are you doing here?" His eyes were big and cheeks red. He was shirtless and his shoes weren't even laced up yet.

"I always come down here before the game." Looking over his sad state, she asked curiously "why aren't you dressed?"

"Huh? Oh, I was hot." He paused. "Don't you have to sing?"

Her smile soon turned into an odd stare. "Yeah….Troy is you're pants on fire?"

"What?"

"There's smoke coming from your behind you. Troy?" Incredulously, she walked behind him and found a peculiar object resting between his thumb and forefinger.

"Gabs, you should just go. I need some time alone."

"Troy, what is that?"

"Gabriella …"

Her face soon turned cross and anger began rising in her cheeks. "Troy is that a joint? Is that pot? Where did you get that? What are you doing?"

"Just chill out, okay. I'm just using it to mellow out."

"Chill out? Chill out? Troy that's an illegal substance. And it's dangerous." Hot tears began to sting her cheeks.

"It's not big deal unless you tell someone, so keep your mouth shut." He must have become brave, because Troy put the rolled up paper up to his lips and inhaled heavily.

"Troy Alexander Bolton I can't believe you! Why are you doing this?"

"Because Gabriella," He stood up and faced her. His eyes were big, red and angry. "Because there are dozens of scouts out there watching me play. There is over a million dollars worth of scholarship money sitting in the bleachers! That's why!"

"So you're going to throw your life away because of scholarships? Troy if you smoke this tonight you won't be playing as Troy Bolton. You'll walk out onto the floor as pothead Troy."

"Shut up, Gabriella. You don't understand."

"Whatever Troy. Why do you care what those scouts think? You should be playing for yourself, not for them!"

Sweat was pouring down Troy's face and he looked furiously at her. "Gabriella, this is my future. Basketball is my future and if I mess it up tonight, I'm screwed!"

"God Troy," She screamed. It was a surprise that the basketball team hadn't heard them fighting and ran into the room. "Why do you care so much with what other people think? That's your problem; you worry about what everyone else will think of you. Your father, Chad, the basketball team, EVERYONE! Except yourself."

Troy sat back down on the wooden bench and bowed his head. "What are you talking about?"

"When you get off this court tonight, you may be excited because you won or played your best game; but in twenty years from now, what will you think? You're going to remember that you had hid in the locker room and smoked marijuana before you played! You'll never be able to live with yourself!" Gabriella's voice settled and she wiped the tears away from her face, smudging the painted '14' that was previously on her cheek.

"Get out," Pointing a finger towards the door, Troy didn't even look at her. "Get out!"

"Troy don't do this…"

"Get out you stupid bitch!" As soon as he said it, he regretted ever even daring to say those awful words to her. Tears poured out of Gabriella's eyes and her body began shaking. She didn't move though, but just stared at him begging for an apology.

It never came, and she quickly pulled the red and white jersey she was wearing over her head and threw it at him. "Find someone else to wear your damn jersey." Her voice was scratchy and sad. Her eyes reflected a terrible amount of hurt into his.

"Gabriella…"

"Leave me alone." With sad eyes, Troy watched Gabriella leave the locker room and not even dare to turn back.

_Ladies and Gentlemen, this evening's presentation of the "Star Spangled Banner" will be performed by senior Gabriella Montez. Gabriella is the president of the scholastic decathlon team, the math club, and the science club. She is also an active member of the drama club and women's chorus. Most importantly, Gabriella is the girlfriend of our star basketball player, Troy Bolton. _

When the announcer finished, Gabriella cleared her throat and nervously walked onto the floor of the gym, facing the hundreds of people that had come out to support the wildcats. When she had been asked to sing before the game, she had originally been ecstatic. But now, still upset and tormented over her fight with Troy, Gabriella was in no mood to open the game.

With the microphone to her lips, her voice blared over the speaker, notes flawless and beautifully in tune. During the third chorus, she saw him walk into the gym, head hanging low and a smug look across his brow.

"And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting through air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."

Gabriella watched as Troy whispered something in his dad's ear and began making extravagant motions with his hands. Whatever he was saying made Coach Bolton apparently very angry, as his face turned an insane shade of red. Sheepishly, when he was finished Troy walked over and sat down on a chair and let his face fall into his hands.

She finished the song, and thankfully no tears were shed. As the audience applauded, she quickly walked out the court and into the hallway, preparing to get in her car and go home. From the gym, she could hear the basketball team warming up, as the audience was screaming in excitement.

"Gabriella…" Hearing his voice behind her surprised her, but she was glad at the same time. "Gabriella… please listen to me."

"What do you want?" Slowly, she turned around so he could fully see the hurt in her face. "To call me a bitch again? Or this time do you want to change it up and call me a whore?"

"Gabi," Troy's voice was soft and sad. "Gabi, I'm so sorry. You know I didn't mean it. I was messed up."

Her demeanor softened, but only a bit. "Troy, why did you do it?"

"I don't know… I was so nervous and I couldn't stand the idea of losing."

"You won't lose, Troy. And so what if you do? Basketball isn't all there is to you!"

"Yeah…." Gabriella smiled gracefully, before walking over and grabbing his hand.

"Please, promise me…"

Troy smiled back. "I will never, ever do that again. I'm going to sit out the first half of the game and maybe it will wear off, I didn't smoke that much…"

A buzzer went off in the gym, signaling the beginning of the game. "I guess you should go in there…" Gabriella was still not completely trusting of Troy's behavior.

"Aren't you going to come?"

"Troy… you called me a bitch. I know you're high and everything, but that's just…"

"I understand." Taking a deep breath, Troy turned around and walked towards the double doors. "Have a good night. Can I call you when the game ends?"

"Troy…"

"No, Gabi. I love you and I'm so so so sorry."

"I know."

She walked over to him and kissed him daintily on the cheek. "Please call me. I love you too."

"Thanks. I'm sorry, Gabs." He paused, remembering the wadded up fabric in his hand. "Here, you can keep this. No one else will ever wear it but you."

Troy turned around on his heel, pushed the handles on the door and walked into the noisy gymnasium.

"Good luck, Troy." He was already gone, but Gabriella wished him luck anyways.

Instead of walking to her car and going home like she had said, Gabriella stood in the hallway pacing back and forth, listening to the score inside the gym. When the band broke for half-time, she pulled Troy's jersey over her head, pushed open the double doors and walked inside. When she was supposed to follow the usual route that led to the student section, she walked across the row of basketball players all the way to the end where Troy was standing, nervously bouncing his legs up and down.

"Gabriella? What are you doing?"

Out of nowhere, she bent over and kissed him on the corner of his lip. "Good luck, Wildcat. I'm cheering for you."

"Gabi--?" Troy's face was pink and if it weren't for the team and guests, he might have let several tears spring out of the corner of his eyes.

"I love you Troy. I'll meet you on the floor like always and then we'll go home."

"Okay." He smiled and watched her walk back across the court, up the stairs of bleachers and find her usual spot next to Taylor. When time came for him to run out and warm up, her warm, loving voice cheering him on could be heard louder than anyone else's.

_A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect;_

_Every action in this world will bear a consequence._

_If you wait around forever you will surely drown._

_I see what's going down.

* * *

_

Present Day—Beginning of February

Gabriella was lieing on the examining table in the doctor's office wearing an oversized hospital gown, resting her small hands on her still flat stomach. Her brown eyes danced around the room, looking at the several dozen baby pictures that adorned the walls randomly. Each child had a different smile, hair color and personality. It sent a warm feeling over her cold body to think that one day her children's faces will be hanging on that wall.

Their faces; that was all Gabriella had been able to think of the last few months. What they would look like. Would they have Troy's eyes or hers? What about the ears, nose and mouths? It made her smile to think that in June there would be twenty fingers, twenty toes and two mouths to take care of. She was itching to meet her children and couldn't stand the idea of waiting five more months.

"Hello Gabriella, how are you doing today?" Walking into the room, Dr. Sanchez's warm greeting interrupted Gabriella's thoughts.

"I'm good." She smiled to her doctor. "The morning sickness seems to have passed."

Reading over her chart, the doctor didn't even look up to say "that's wonderful. Have you been having any cramping? Bleeding?"

"No," Pausing, Gabriella thought twice about continuing. "Except…"

Doctor Sanchez looked up from the chart and starred at Gabriella quizzically. "Except when?"

Redness covered her cheeks, obviously from embarrassment. "Well, expect when Troy and I…." That was all Gabriella was going to say.

"Have intercourse?" As plain as day, Doctor Sanchez finished the sentence before letting out a small laugh. "That's fine Gabriella, and it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Now lie back."

"I know…" Looking down at her lap, she felt her cheeks continue to grow red. Now she was embarrassed from being embarrassed about being embarrassed.

She looked back up when she heard her doctor ask, "Is your husband coming?"

"Oh, I'm sorry… I completely forgot." Gabriella smiled. "Troy's going to be here. Can we wait just a few minutes? He had practice"

The doctor looked up at the Winnie the Pooh clock on the wall. "Sure. Do you want to take a peek before he gets here?"

The excitement of seeing her children almost took over the idea of Troy's gratification of seeing them at the same time. "No," Gabriella decided. "I can wait."

"Alright, whatever you say." Rolling the ultrasound machine closer to her patient, Doctor Sanchez began preparing for the examination. "So what do you want? Two boys or two girls?"

"Oh, well, I actually haven't thought about." Chewing on her bottom lip, she closed her eyes and envisioned her and Troy standing at their home in New Mexico, watching two children run around the yard.

"Gabriella?" The doctor was now sitting on a stool, taking her blood pressure. "You seem to be drifting off today, are you sure everything's okay?"

Gabriella smiled warmly. "Yes, everything's fine. I'm just excited, you know?"

"Oh do I ever. What about Troy? Is he excited?"

A huge smile spread across her face thinking of Troy. "Oh definitely. He's going to make a great father..."

_Do you feel like a man when you push her around?_

_Do you feel better now? She falls to the ground._

_Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end_

_As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found_

At around seven o'clock that night, Troy walked into the doorway of the house, hot and exhausted. He threw his gym bag on the floor and dragged his legs into the kitchen, hoping to find the two things he loved the most: a hot plate of food and Gabriella. But instead, he found neither of those, just a deserted kitchen. Even the usual pile of papers was cleaned off the table and everything look sterilized.

"Gabi?" He asked, calling throughout the house. Too tired to go searching for her, he collapsed onto one of the high back wooden chairs and began untying the laces on his tennis shoes. Something in the middle of the table caught his eye though.

Troy called again, "Gabriella? Are you at home?" Sliding the rectangular box towards him, he called his wife again. "Gabs?" He was cut short though, when he looked at the DVD case and read the sticker on the front.

_Baby Girl and Baby Boy Bolton_

_February 9__th_

Troy sighed. He had completely forgotten about the doctor's appointment that was scheduled for earlier that day. All afternoon he had been practicing ball with Troy and then East High's team.

"Damnit," he yelled at himself furiously. "Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!" Kicking off his other shoe, sending it across the kitchen, he ran upstairs to their bedroom hoping to find his wife.

"Gabs?" He yelled down the hallway. "Gabriella?" From the guest bedroom he heard a ruffle of paper and a sniff, giving up Gabriella's hiding spot. "Gabs…." When he walked into the room he found his distraught wife bent over a cardboard box wrapping picture frames in tissue paper.

"Gabi?" She was clearly ignoring him, having picked up another picture and starting to wrap it up. "Gabriella, please talk to me."

Instead of saying a word, she picked up a frame and chucked it at his head. The sharp corner hit him right in the middle of his forehead, causing him to stumble backwards and let out several inappropriate words.

"Damnit, I'm bleeding." Troy turned around and ran down the hallway to his bathroom, covering the fresh cut with his hand. Surprisingly, Gabriella was at his heels, following him to the bathroom.

"Troy, I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean for it to actually hit you!" She pushed him down on the bed before running into the bathroom. Troy could hear her digging through the medicine cabinet looking for the appropriate materials.

"What did you mean to hit? The wall?" When his wife returned, she had a bottle of antiseptic and a wet cloth in one hand and several band aids in the other.

"No. Gosh, Troy. I'm so sorry." When she put the cloth with medicine up to his forehead, he hissed.

"Shit Gabriella that hurts." He had a sort of disgruntled look on his face. "Is it deep? Am I going to need stitches?"

"No, it's not deep. Geeze."

"Ouch!" Troy squealed. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry…."

"Gabriella… stop it!" A minute later, Troy had a Spiderman band aid across his forehead and Gabriella was cleaning up the mess.

"Couldn't you ever buy some appropriate aged band aids?" He admired his face in the mirror.

Appearing out of the bathroom, he took a good luck at her face. It was incredibly obvious that she had been crying. "Gabi…"

"Troy… I don't want to hear it, okay." Halfway out the door, she turned back to him and scowled. "I don't want to hear any lame ass excuses from you today. I'm tired of it. I know you were with Chad and then you had team practice. Fine."

He looked at her, afraid to speak.

"You made the choice to schedule those things today. You knew that the appointment was today, I even went over it with you Troy. But you still missed it, and you know what, that hurt worse than that cut on your forehead."

"Gabi, I can explain!"

She screamed, "No, you can't. Because I don't want an explanation. Troy, you missed seeing your children's ultrasound today. You missed coming to one of the doctor's appointments. But I don't care. You can choose to miss as many appointments as you want. Hell, you can miss the birth for all I care!"

"It's not that way and you know it—!" He yelled after her, limping down the hallway. The injury to his head must have affected his ability to walk.

"Troy, you're going to be the one that looks back on missing today and regret it! Not me!" And with that, Gabriella slammed the door to the guest bedroom, turned the lock and returned to boxing up picture frames.

For a while, Troy stood there trying to decide whether or not to kick the door open, storm in there and apologize. But being sensible, he turned around, walked back downstairs and into the living room. Picking up the DVD that he had found earlier, he curiously popped it into the machine, turned on the TV and stood there mesmerized.

In front of his eyes were his two children… well, soon to be children. Right now they were two gray shadows, with few human like characteristics. The heart beat filled the room and Troy felt compelled to take a step closer, reach out and touch the television. White writing appeared pointing out the female and male features and then things like 'nose,' 'lips,' 'fingers,' and 'toes.'

Troy was so taken back, he completely forgot about the pain in his legs, his tired body or even the cut on his forehead. But instead, he stood there for hours just watching the tape over and over again. Every time it would end and the nose of the heartbeat would stop, he would rewind the movie and start it all over again. He had fallen in love with his children already.

Much later, he heard Gabriella come out of the guest room and walk across the loft into their bedroom. Knowing that she wanted to be left alone, he walked over and fell onto the couch, but not taking his eyes off the television.

"What have I done?" He sighed. Still staring at his children, realizing that he had not only missed their first appearance, but he missed the chance to be with Gabriella.

_Do you feel like a man when you push her around?_

_Do you feel better now? She falls to the ground._

_Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end_

_As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found_

_

* * *

_

**AN: Okay guys, first off-- I'm incredibly sorry that it took me so long to get this up! I just really wanted to make sure that you could really see the stuff that Troy and Gabriella do. Secondly, don't think for an instance that Troy is like beating Gabriella or they are going to get a divorce.. just hang in there. The song may be a litlte rough and cruel, but there's more to it. **

**Next order of buisness, by the lack of reviews I have personally decided that I'm not setting the standard high enough for myself. I mean, I wouldn't review a bad story either. So, I'm going to really push the envelope here and make things ten times better. Because truthfully, you guys deserve it. I'm telling you this now because it might take a week or so to get new updates--- but it's only because I'm trying to make it better. **

**Thank you so much! Now go crazy!**


	21. I'm Your Angel

**Valentines Day- Present Day**

"Hey is anybody home?" Taylor screamed while pushing open the front door to her empty house. The hallway was pitch black and an eerie feeling fell over her as she dropped her bag on the floor and closed the door behind her. "Matthew….Maddie….Chad?"

Lucy, their two year old golden retriever, ran up to her panting and barking in excitement. "Hey girl, where is everybody?" Taylor asked while bending over to shower the puppy in hugs and kisses.

After giving the dog a few minutes of deserved attention and then letting it out the door to run around, Taylor carefully began walking through the living room and into the kitchen in search of her family.

"Guys?" She yelled for a third time. Upon entering the kitchen, instead of finding her family sitting down for dinner, she found a vase full of a dozen roses. A note was attached to one stem that simply read **come outside and follow the lights**.

Taylor picked up the note and walked outside onto the deck just as she was instructed. Once there, she was taken aback by the hundreds of tea lights that lined the backyard. Just as the note said, she followed the line of candles until she reached the gazebo at the corner of the woods where she found her ex-husband was sitting on a lawn chair, flipping through the pages of a book.

"Chad? What is all of this? Where are the kids? Why are you reading?" Out of shock, a thousand questions began pouring out of her mouth. Chad just sat there though, still turning pages, not even looking up at her.

"Did Troy and Gabriella get on their flight?" He asked nonchalantly.

Taylor scowled, before walking over and snatching the book out of his hands. "Yes they did. Now answer my questions! Where are Matthew and Maddie?"

"At your parents."

"Why? What are they doing there? We were going to have dinner with Jason and Kelsi, remember? And what are you doing reading poetry?"

Chad sat up and smiled. "It's Valentine's day, Taylor. Don't you remember our tradition?"

Her eyes grew wide and unlike earlier, she was now at a loss for words. Tears sprung her eyes as she looked at the man who meant so much to her. "Chad…You remembered?"

He laughed easily. "Of course I remembered. How could I forget? Now, the kids are staying at your parents for the night and I called Jason and told him that we would reschedule."

Her mouth made an 'o' shape and her eyes danced around the gazebo, fully admiring the scene he had created. There was a candlelight dinner for two set up next to them, complete with chocolate covered strawberries and red-velvet cake, which just happened to be Taylor's favorite. The roof of the gazebo was covered in white Christmas lights and there were rose petals scattered randomly around the ledge. Music was playing softly in the background and several books were resting on the lounge chair near Chad's feet.

"Taylor? What's wrong?" Chad asked, looking up into her soft brown eyes that were filled with tears. "Why are you crying?"

Using her hand as a towel, she wiped the tears away and smiled. "This is beautiful Chad. Who did all of this?"

Sticking his chest out in pride, he replied. "I did, of course. Now, I was thinking we could eat first and then do the poetry thing later."

"Why?"

"Why what? Why do I want to eat first? I'm afraid the food might get cold, but I guess it would be okay…"

"No," she interrupted. "Why did you do all of this?" Chad looked at her for a long time, not saying a word until he reached over and grabbed her hand. The feeling of their skin touching was electrifying.

"Taylor, I did this because I know how important to you it is."

"Chad, that's really sweet. But it's just something we did once in high school." Releasing his hand, she stood up and walked over towards the opposite side of the gazebo.

He frowned, but then wheeled himself in her direction. "It means more to you than that. Look, it's valentines day, and after all you've done for me this year, I want to do something nice for you."

"Thank you." Her voice was weak and when Chad reached out to grab her hand, a few stray tears dripped from her eye lids.

"Can I ask you something?" Accepting her nod, he continued. "Will you be my valentine?"

* * *

**Valentine's Day- Senior Year**

Gabriella had a sad look on her face as she walked out the door of East High on Friday afternoon. It was Valentine's Day and all of the love and romance in the air was making her sick. She couldn't wait to go home, climb into bed and dive into a good book. The last week had been miserable for her when all of her friends were discussing their big, romantic plans for the weekend, especially since Gabriella didn't have any.

As she quickly made her way through the mass of students towards her car, she felt hot tears brimming her eyes. Why was it, she wondered, that everyone else got to enjoy Valentines but her?

"Gabriella!" Even after hearing Sharpay's voice call after her, Gabriella made no effort to stop. "Gabriella, where are you going?"

"Ugh, sorry Sharpay. I can't talk, I…ugh… have a hair appointment." Putting on a fake smile, she turned around and waved at her friend who was running towards her.

"A hair appointment. What for?" Sharpay said while trying to catch her breath.

"Um," Now wishing she would have come up with a better lie, Gabriella searched for a reason. "My date tonight."

"Your date? With Troy? Ooh la la!" Gabriella watched as her friend batted her eyes like she was on a soap opera.

"Ugh, yeah." Out of nerves, she began chewing on the inside of her tongue. She couldn't help but let her eyes drift around the parking lot for Troy's blue eyes.

Sharpay giggled with excitement. "Gabriella. Why don't you let me do your hair? And do you have something to wear, I'm sure I can find something for you!"

"Sharpay, that's really okay…." But then Gabriella stopped, catching the eyes of the guy who stole her heart not too long ago. He was standing in the middle of a crowd of people, like always. Cheerleaders and basketball players were screaming his name, but he seemed to care less. Troy's eyes were staring longingly into hers.

"Gabriella? Hello, earth to Gabriella?" Sharpay looked at her friend oddly and then over at the group of boys.

Gabriella felt her body go numb and her head began spinning. "Sharpay, I really need to go. Have a goodnight tonight with Zeke." And then without another word, she swung open the door to her car and fell inside. In just minutes she sped out of the parking lot, leaving a very confused and slightly angry Sharpay standing in the parking lot where Gabriella's car once was.

As soon as she was home, Gabriella threw down her books and ran upstairs to her room. Collapsing on her bed, she let the thousands of angry and heartbroken tears fall onto her pillowcase. She looked over when her cell phone began vibrating her pocket and saw that it was Sharpay calling, most likely to yell at her for leaving so quickly. But she didn't care. She also didn't care when Taylor, Kelsi, Zeke and Ryan called trying to check on her.

After a while, Gabriella's sad eyes turned into tired ones and exhaustion took over her body. Hoping to sleep away the stress of the week, she closed her eyes and tried to think of something other than her miserable Valentine's Day. She wasn't asleep very long though, as someone started banging loudly on the door to her balcony. Startled, Gabriella made an attempt to kick off the covers and jump off the bed, but instead, she rolled over and fell to the floor.

"Gabriella. Oh my gosh, Gabriella. Are you okay?" Her faced buried into the carpet, all she head was that very familiar voice coming towards her.

When she rolled over she found two blue eyes staring at her with a giant look of concern. "Troy? What are you doing here?"

He bent over and offered his hand. "I came to talk to you."

"Oh." When Gabriella took his hand, a rush of electricity flew through her veins.

"Are you okay?" Troy said while pulling her up from the ground. As she stood, the rush of blood to her head caused her body to sway and back and forth, eventually falling into his arms.

They both blushed, but neither one let go. "Troy…"

"Gabriella…"

"I'm sorry." They said in unison. Gabriella turned her face, staring down at the carpet that she was resting on earlier. Troy just sighed.

"Can I go first?" He asked. When she nodded, he pulled away and walked over towards the balcony. "Look Gabriella, I don't deserve you and I will never be able to forgive myself for what happened at the game the other night. That's why I'll understand if you want to go your separate ways."

"What?" She asked, confused. This was not exactly the apology she had hoped for.

"If you want to break up, I'll understand." Troy turned his back towards her and leaned against the railing, staring out into the backyard.

"Break up?" Gabriella screamed. "Who said anything about breaking up? Are you breaking up with me?"

"No, it's just…"

Her throat was dry and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "Just what? You made a stupid mistake and so I get punished for it?"

"Huh?" When he turned around and saw tears dancing down her cheeks, he felt like the worst person in the world.

"Troy I don't want to break up with you!"

"You don't?"

"No! Why would you think that?" While wiping her eyes with the side of her hand, Gabriella walked out onto the balcony and stood next to him.

"Because I've been such an asshole to you."

"Troy," Carefully, she reached over and grabbed his hand. "We all make mistakes. You just made a really dumb one. That's okay though, I still love you."

He smiled. "I love you too. God, Gab's, I've missed you so much." Without a second thought, Troy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"I missed you too. Why wouldn't you answer my calls?"

"I was afraid you were mad at me." Gabriella looked up into his eyes and felt happy for the first time in weeks. "I was mad at me."

"I was mad at you too for a little while. But I was worried about you. You scared me, Troy."

Lowering his head, Troy rested his cheek against hers. "I'll never scare you again."

"Good. Now will you do something for me?" When he pulled away, Gabriella's eyes were staring deeply into his. The tears were gone, but that glistened, hazed look was still there. In his mind though, she looked absolutely beautiful and he never wanted to let go.

"Anything."

"Kiss me..." Troy's knees went weak and he had to lean against the banister for support. He had craved her kisses so much in the last few weeks.

"Under one condition." Gabriella gave him a confused look, but nodded. He let go of her waist and fell down to one knee. "Gabriella Montez, will you be my Valentine?"

One final tear fell down Gabriella's cheek as she was kissing her long lost boyfriend. Of course she said yes, and Troy immediately jumped up and kissed her passionately.

When they broke apart for the first time, she smiled. "You know? In just few hours Valentine's day will be over."

"Oh yeah?" Troy teased. "You're not expecting a present or anything are you?"

"Maybe…"

"Aren't my good lucks and sweet charm presents enough?" Laughing, Gabriella punched him lightly. "Ouch, that hurt."

"It did not. And yes, Troy, you are all I wanted." He leaned over and kissed her again, this time lightly and lustfully.

"Well, I do have a present for you. Will you come with me?"

She grabbed his hand and began following him through the house. "You aren't going to kidnap me, are you?"

"Maybe…." As they walked through the back door of the house, Troy heard Gabriella gasp. In front of them was one of the most splendid things she had ever seen. White Christmas lights and candles covered the Montez's backyard. There was music playing and a dinner set for two.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Gabriella." Troy squeezed her hand before taking the final step into their backyard. Out of nowhere, Ryan came running up to Gabriella and taking her free arm.

"Welcome to Café Love." He laughed, linking her arm like any waiter would. "Are you here for our special dine and dance Valentines dinner?"

Playing along, Gabriella nodded. "I don't know about dancing, though. My boyfriend isn't very light on his feet."

"Oh we'll see about that." Troy said, feigning hurt. "I can dance circles around you."

"Or on her feet." Standing at the table, Taylor had on an apron and towel around her arm. "Hello, my names Taylor and I'll be your waitress for the evening. Can I start you two lovebirds off with anything to drink tonight? I recommend the cinnamon hot chocolate."

"Taylor? I thought you had a date with Chad?" But before Gabriella could ask any more questions, Chad was walking towards the table carrying steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

"Here are your drinks and dinner is on the way." Chad and Taylor both retreated into the house, leaving Troy and Gabriella buy themselves in the backyard.

"Troy this is incredible, but I don't get it."

"Just wait and see…" He said while squeezing her hand. A few moments later, Chad returned carrying a huge tray of food.

"Here you go ma'am. Chicken Enchilada's and rice, just as you ordered."

"Thanks Chad…I mean sir." Gabriella smiled up at her bushy-haired friend and then back down at the incredible plate of food. "Troy this is my favorite. How did you know?"

"I asked your mom." Troy said obviously.

In between bites, Gabriella continued to ask questions. "So she knows about this?"

"Of course. I had to get permission before I just came over and tore up your backyard. Plus, who do you think made sure she was out of the house?"

"Wait? You set up the date? With who?" Gabriella was really surprised at all the effort Troy had put into the evening.

"My Uncle James. He's a nice guy. He works at blockbuster." Troy almost stuck out his chest in pride of all his planning. Gabriella laughed, but at the same time said a prayer for her mother to not have a terrible evening.

"Wow, babe. I'm really impressed." The couple continued their dinner while catching up on the last three weeks and enjoying each other's company.

"So what's next?" Gabriella asked while Jason was clearing away the table, satisfying his job as a 'busboy.'

"Dancing." Ryan joined the table and offered Gabriella his arm. "If you'll come with me, we'll get started."

"Whoa, wait a minute. I'm not dressed to go dancing, I'm wearing sweats." She let go of Ryan's arm and frowned. "Sorry, Troy."

"What do you think I'm here for?" Making her presence known, Sharpay rushed to Gabriella side and grabbed her arm. "Come with me. We have some serious damage control to take care of!" As they were walking inside the house, Gabriella turned around and looked at Troy for an explanation. He just winked.

"Sharpay, what are we doing?" Gabriella yelled at her friend, who was practically dragging her up the stairs towards her bedroom. "Look, I'm sorry I ran away from you today…"

"Don't worry about it." Once the reached Gabriella's bedroom, the girls walked inside and found Taylor and Kelsi anxiously waiting on them. "Now listen, Gabs. You have to promise not to argue with anything, but just do what we say."

Gabriella nodded as she was being pushed down into a chair facing her vanity. "What are you doing?"

"No questions." Taylor demanded. "Just wait and see."

Troy and the rest of the guys were sitting at one of the patio tables, waiting anxiously for the girls to come downstairs and outside. Like the others, he had changed into a nice pair of black pants and a pink dress shirt. The dinner mess had been cleared away and now the only thing in the backyard was the newly shined dance floor and sound system.

When Gabriella finally did come outside, Troy felt his heart pound inside his chest and beads of sweat grow at his hairline. He didn't know if he wanted to scream or cry or just run up to her and hold her. Choosing neither, he stood firmly planted on the dance floor, watching her glide like an angel towards him. In his opinion, Gabriella was the most beautiful girl in the world, especially tonight. With her hair curled and make- up lightly done, she took his breath away. He let his eyes climb up and down her body, admiring the way that beautiful dress hugged her curves.

"Hey." He gulped when she finally came to his side. The group of friends waited as onlookers to see the reaction between the pair. "You look….incredible. No, more than incredible."

Gabriella blushed and let her eyes drop to her silver heels. "Thanks. You don't look to bad yourself."

"Well, I don't hold a dime to you. You look absolutely amazing…Red is my favorite color on you"

Turning her big brown eyes up towards him, she smiled warmly before grabbing his hand. "So, where's the music?"

"Just wait…" The silence between them lingered until violins began playing over the speakers. Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella's waist and pulled her as close to him as he could.

"Dance with me?" He pleaded. Instead of nodding, she rested her head on his chest and began swaying back and forth. "Are you ready?" He whispered.

"For what?" As soon as the final words came out of her mouth, she saw Sharpay walk over and pick up one of the microphones.

_No mountains too high for you to climb_

_All you have to do, is have some climbing faith_

_No river is too wide for you to make it across_

_All you have to do, is believe it when you pray_

"Troy? You got Sharpay to sing?" Her eyes were welling with tears as her best friends began serenading them with a song.

"Yeah and Chad, too. Just listen."

_And then you will see the morning will come,_

_and everyday will be bright as the sun_

_All of your fears, cast them on me_

_I just want you to see_

"I love you Troy. Thank you so much. This is the best Valentines day I've ever had."

"Well, as long as we're together, you're going to have lots and lots of good Valentine's days."

"Oh yeah?"

"I love you Gabriella. You're my Valentine every minute of every day. You're my angel."

* * *

**Valentine's Day, Present Day- With Taylor and Chad again**

"So what do you want to hear next? Shakespeare? Dickenson? Emerson?" Chad was laying in the recliner, with Taylor's head resting against his chest. She had a glass of champagne in one hand and a half-eaten chocolate covered strawberry in the other.

"Um, I don't know." Maneuvering her body until she was comfortable, Taylor found herself fitting perfectly in Chad's arms. "You pick."

"Okay." Chad cleared his throat before closing his eyes. He didn't need the book for this particular poem.

_I'll be your cloud up in the sky_

_I'll be your shoulder when you cry_

_I hear your voices when you call me_

_I am your Angel,_

_And when all hope is gone I'm here_

_No matter how far you are, I'm near_

_It makes no difference who you are_

_I am your Angel, I'm your Angel_

As she listened to the all to familiar song, Taylor felt a sudden wave of emotions overcome her. She didn't know whether it was guilt or the romance in the air, but almost sick to her stomach, she sat up straight and put her hand up in the air signaling him to stop.

"Chad, stop!" She pleaded, eyes filling to the brim with tears.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He let the book drop to the ground and sat up next to her. "What did I say?"

_I saw your tear drops and I heard you cry_

_All you need is time, seek me and you shall find_

_You have everything and your still lonely_

_It don't have to be this way_

_Let me show you a better day_

"You didn't say or do anything, Chad. This is perfect, I don't deserve this."

"What are you talking about?" He was truly confused.

She wiped a few loose tears away. "I don't deserve you to be nice to me, especially after how I've treated you."

"Tay, you haven't treated me any way other than incredibly generous. You took me in when I had nowhere to go and you let me be a part of this family again." Chad let his hand run up and down her spine.

"Please stop being so nice to me. I don't deserve you." Taylor cried.

"Stop saying that then." He didn't mean to yell, but he was just so frustrated. "I love you Taylor."

"What?" Stumbling for words, she turned and saw that his eyes were full of tears too.

"I love you." Internally, Chad's heart was pounding and stomach churning, but on the outside he just sighed. "I love you, Taylor. More than anything else in this world."

_Then you will see, the morning will come_

_And all of your days will be bright as the sun_

_So all of your fears just cast them on me_

_How can I make you see?_

"What?"

"I love you."

Tears falling, her voice was raspy and nerves were shaking. "I heard you. Why? When did this happen?"

Chad reached over and grabbed her hand and looked deep into her eyes. "I've loved you for a long, long time Taylor. It just took me this long to realize how much I need you."

"You need me?" He nodded and wiped the tears away from her cheek.

"I need you." They were inches apart and Taylor could taste his lips. She had wished and prayed for this moment for so long.

"Why?" She turned her head and looked out into the moonlight. Chad grabbed her chin and pulled her back towards him.

"Because you're my angel." And then they kissed. They kissed to make up for all of the lost kisses in the last few months and all of the kisses they hoped to share in the future. They kissed because at that moment, everything between them had disappeared.

_I'll be your cloud up in the sky_

_I'll be your shoulder when you cry_

_I hear your voices when you call me_

_I am your Angel,_

_And when all hope is gone I'm here_

_No matter how far you are, I'm near_

_It makes no difference who you are_

_I am your Angel, I'm your Angel_

_

* * *

_

_Okay guys, really, there are not enough excuses as to why it took me almost a MONTH to update! I feel so bad, there was just so much going on with the end of the school year. And to be quite honest, this chapter gave me a lot of trouble. I just hope it meets your needs as a reader & reviewer. Which, let me also thank everyone that reviewed and the reviewed again and again! I promise you there will not be another wait this long, as a matter of fact, the end of this story is near! It should not carry on much farther into July. I like the next chapters much better and am in the writing groove again. _

_On a lighter note, I figured you all deserved a treat for being so amazing, so I'm going to start giving you 'sneak previews' 'at the end of each chapter for what to expect in the next one. Kind of like what a television series does, I'm going to give you just enough to want more!! So, without further ado: _

In the next chapter we're going to visit the musical the gang performed their senior year and get to see more insight into Troy and Gabriella's relationship. We may not know what happened behind the curtains of Twinkle Towne, but you'll know here. Also, our favorite Evans is going to make a suprise visit from NYC and the group is going to return to their musicale ways for one last show.


	22. Tale As Old As Time

**Okay guys, I'm sorry about the long wait again. I've just been really busy lately. I'm going out of town this next week but after that, I promise to really update at least a chapter a week! Also, thanks so much for the reviews. I really appreciated the feedback on what you liked and what you didn't like-- keep doing that. I'm not really pleased with this chapter, but I hope you like it. But, it was important! I hope you like beauty & the beast as much as I do!**

* * *

_Tale as old as time  
True as it can be  
Barely even friends  
Then somebody bends  
Unexpectedly  
_

"Gabriella, you're on in ten minutes, okay?"

"Okay, thanks Dylan." She yelled back to the stage manager while putting on the final touches of her make – up. She took one last look in the mirror before standing up, smoothing out the front of her dress and rushing out the doorway.

With one person in mind, she ran down the busy hallway towards the side of the stage that hosted the guy's dressing rooms. Crew members were running everywhere making sure costumes and props were in order.

"Hey…Chad?" When Gabriella walked into Troy's dressing room, she was surprised to find Chad and Taylor sitting there and not her boyfriend. "Taylor? What are you guys doing here?"

"Trying to help Chad put on his make-up." The tone in Taylor's voice signaled her frustration. "If he would sit still and stop moving around."

"Chad you have to wear make-up." She explained, stepping inside.

"Why? I'm a man. Men don't wear make-up." Gabriella couldn't help but laugh when Chad batted away Taylor's hand and stuck out his chest. "Be gone, woman. I am a man." He said in a deep voice.

Taylor threw a powder brush across the room and stood up off the stool. "Fine, do it yourself then, baby!"

"Chad." After walking over and picking up the discarded brush, Gabriella sat down next to her bushy haired 'man' friend. "You have to wear make-up. Just, don't think of it as what girls wear. Think of it as like, combat paint. Something to show you're ready for battle?"

Chad's eyes lit up with the thought and soon Taylor was back in her original seat helping her boyfriend put on his 'battle paint.'

"Where did Troy go?" Gabriella asked as she turned to leave.

"Oh yeah," Taylor remembered. "There's a note on his table for you. Something about meeting you at the roof, but I don't know what that means. What's on the roof?" When she turned to get an answer, Gabriella was already running down the hall towards the door that led outside.

"Troy?" Gabriella yelled from the bottom of the steps.

"I'm up here." She followed the steps to the top of the roof, which quickly became their usual meeting place and hide out. Every now and then they would meet in between classes or during lunch just to have a few spare moments alone together.

"What are you doing up here? We're supposed to be on stage in… Oh My Gosh!"

"What?" Gabriella had practically flew ten feet into the air when she had seen him. "You've seen my costume before."

"I know… just, not with all of the make-up. You look…"

"Strange? Scary? Terribly unattractive?"

"I was going to say smoking hot and incredibly sexy." Troy looked up at his girlfriend who was hovering over him, blushing and her brown eyes sparkling.

"You look amazing." He whispered. "I'm sorry you have to be seen with me."

Taking a seat next to him on the bench, Gabriella ran her hand up his spine and laughed. "Troy, you look fine. It's a costume and you get to change into your normal self at the end."

"You look absolutely stunning. Do you know that?"

"You might have mentioned it." Gabriella giggled and rested his head on his shoulder. "Are you ready to do this?"

"I guess so. I keep thinking of all the mistakes I can make, the moves I can forget. Oh, and I had this horrible dream last night that my voice cracked right in the middle of a line."

"Yeah, I had a dream like that too. Except I was naked and didn't know it."

Troy's eyes bugged out. "You were naked? How come I don't get to have your dreams?"

They sat together silently for a few more seconds until Troy got up and walked to the opposite side of the gardens.

"We're going to do great." Gabriella smiled up at her boyfriend, who at the moment looked ferocious and cute at the same time. "I think we make a pretty good team."

When Troy turned around, he had a bouquet of lilies in his arm. "Here, these are for you." His voice was high and sharp, and the inside of his stomach was squirming.

"Aww, Troy thank you so much. They are beautiful." Her eyes smiled up at him and she stood up and walked over towards where he was standing. "I'd give you a kiss, but… I don't know how we would do that."

"I know." He couldn't help but frown. "I love you. You're going to be amazing."

"You too. You're the most handsome, loving, wonderful Beast I could ever imagine."

Wrapping his arms around her tiny waist, he looked down into her deep brown eyes. A few tears began to well up in the corns, but Troy gently wiped those away with his thumb. "Well, there is no one I'd rather capture and banish to my castle than you."

Gabriella laughed and then kissed his hand. "Just don't forget your lines."

"And don't start singing too soon." Troy squeezed her one last time before pulling away and walking towards the top of the stairs. "I guess this is it until the end. Good luck."

"Break a leg."

"I love you Troy." She yelled after him, as he waddled down the stairs in his costume. As Gabriella began to leave, a card fell out of the bushel of flowers. Carefully, she picked it up and unfolded the creased piece of paper.

_Gabriella, _

_I hope you know how proud I am of you. I'm always your biggest fan and will be cheering you on from the opening act to the final curtain. I know I'm a beast sometimes, but you are always my princess. I love you more than tomorrow._

_You have my heart. __Your prince, Troy._

When she was finished, Gabriella folded up the piece of paper and stuck it back in the pocket of her apron.

"Here Gabriella, I'll take those." Dylan, the stage manager said appearing at her side. "You're on in thirty seconds."

"Okay, thanks."

"Are you still nervous?" He asked her while he was staring down at his stop watch. "Because you are going to do fine."

Gabriella thought back to the note that was hiding in her pocket and smiled. "No, I'm better now. Thanks Dylan."

"Well, go out there and shine." When he pulled back the curtain, Gabriella nodded her head and stepped out onto the stage. The audience applauded and as soon as she opened her mouth, the show began.

_Just a little change  
Small to say the least  
Both a little scared  
Neither one prepared  
Beauty and the Beast_

* * *

**Present Day **

_Ever just the same  
Ever a surprise  
Ever as before  
Ever just as sure  
As the sun will rise  
_

"I still don't see why we needed to go to Gabriella and Troy's silly little musical." Sharpay was sitting in the passenger's seat of her ford minivan, scowling at her husband.

"Because you love musicals and you love Troy and Gabriella." Zeke smiled. At the moment, Sharpay was very mad at him for making her leave the house and the baby at home with a sitter.

"Well, I could have sent Gabriella flowers to show that."

"Sharpay," Zeke sighed, tired of fighting with his wife. "You've been locked up inside of that house since you and the baby came home from the hospital. It's time you went outside and lived a little. You don't want to become one of those overprotective moms with love handles, do you?"

"I beg your pardon!" She squealed. "I will not get love handles."

"You will if you sit at home with the baby all day. I love Jordan just as much as you do, but I can only watch him burp and poop so much!"

"I love the way he burps and that cute little smile he makes afterwards. Yesterday after lunch he did this cute little…"

"Sharpay, listen to yourself!" Zeke interrupted his wife before she could continue. "I love Jordan and I'd love to sit at home and watch him burp and chew and swallow all day, but we're adults Sharpay. Adults that used to have lives."

"But Jordan is my life." Angry tears were starting to well up inside of the corners of her eyes. "Jordan is all I've got."

"No he's not. You are a great mother Sharpay, the best, but you have me and your friends. Friends who need you to get out of the car and get inside that auditorium."

"Zeke…" She pleaded.

"No Sharpay." He looked over at his wife and her pleading eyes, but did not waiver his decision. "You are going to get your cute butt out of this car, go inside the auditorium and enjoy yourself. Do it for Jordan?"

It took her a few moments but eventually she nodded and pushed open the door to the car. Hand in hand, she and Zeke walked towards the auditorium.

Once inside, the couple walked into a very deserted auditorium where the only evidence of life were a few props set up for the evening's performance.

"Isn't the show supposed to start at seven?" She asked, looking around the room curiously. Not only did it bring back an eerie feeling to be standing in this room again after so long, it was weird to see it empty. In high school there was so much life in the theatre.

"I think so." Zeke led her a few more steps towards the stage. "Maybe you should call Gabriella."

On command, Sharpay pulled out her cell phone and began dialing. But when the familiar tune of Gabriella's ringtone rang in the back of the auditorium, she knew something was up. Before she could turn around to see where her friend's phone was, a very loud "SURPRISE" rang out through the auditorium.

Gabriella, Troy, Taylor and everyone ran out onto the stage, screaming at her and blowing noisemakers. Zeke ran up and joined them, jumping up and down with excitement.

"SURPRISE Sharpay!" Gabriella screamed! "This is your post- baby, baby shower!"

"What?" The still confused friend asked. She stared up at all of her friends and smiled. "What's going on?"

"Well, Sharpay. Seeing as I wasn't able to come to your first baby shower, I thought I'd throw you one myself." An all too familiar voice came from behind the curtain. When Sharpay saw Ryan walk onto the stage, tears sprung out of her eyes and her legs could not move fast enough.

"Oh my gosh!" She squealed. "What are you doing here?" As she embraced her brother, she felt like a teenager again.

"I got two weeks of vacation and of course caught the first flight out here! I can't wait to meet my nephew!" The twins took a few minutes to reconnect and bond while the gang ran around the stage organizing the props and decorations.

"I hate to interrupt your bonding moment, but Ryan needs to get into his costume." Gabriella said as she walked over to the duo.

"Costume?" Sharpay asked, confused again. "What costume?"

Ryan smiled at his sister. "Since you weren't able to come to any of my shows, we're going to put one on for you."

"Huh?"

It was Gabriella's turn to laugh at her friend. "Beauty and the Beast, silly. That was our senior show and that's Ryan's show on Broadway. We're going to perform it for you!"

"And the rest of our friends and family. They'll be here in about thirty minutes, which gives us just enough time to get dressed." Ryan began walking backwards towards the side of the stage that led to the dressing rooms.

"I don't understand."

"Shar- just sit down in a chair and watch." Ryan commanded.

"Watch for what?"

"The show!" Ryan disappeared and Sharpay did as she was instructed. Soon, The Evans and the rest of the gangs family appeared. The all crowded in on the front row and waited with much anticipation for the beginning of the show. Sharpay, on the other hand, sat there as nervous and confused as ever. It wasn't until Gabriella walked out onto the stage dressed in her Belle costume singing that all too familiar song.

Everything from the way Troy and Gabriella fell in love on the stage just as Belle and the Beast did was as flawless as it was in high school. Ryan was the perfect Lumiere and even though Chad was in the wheelchair, his performance of the handsome and devilish Gaston was outstanding. The group of friends put on the performance of their lives and by the time it was over, everyone in the audience and on stage had tears in their eyes.

As everyone did their final bow, Sharpay ran onstage and was swept up into a giant group hug. "Guys that was amazing," She screamed!

"Well, we're a little rusty."

"And out of tune."

"And shape." Jason laughed. The group sat there and reminisced and applauded each other's performances for a long time. Ryan was ecstatic to be visiting with the group again and everyone was more than interested in his big Broadway tales.

"Guys, that was remarkable." Ryan noted as they were walking out of the auditorium and towards the parking lot. It was close to midnight and they group had lost track of time talking.

"I know. It's a shame we can't do things like this anymore." Kelsi noted.

"Why not?" Ryan's innocence to the situation caused several stares and then all eyes fell upon Troy and Gabriella. "What's going on?"

"We're moving Ryan." Troy explained. Gabriella's eyes fell to the floor and she felt very uncomfortable. "I got a job for Ohio coaching basketball."

"What about East High? And the drama club?"

"Kelsi's going to take over the position of director and I don't know who they've hired for basketball coach." Troy let his eyes fall this time.

"So you're just…leaving?" Ryan gaped.

Sharpay's voice came off a lot ruder than she had intended. "Yes, Ry. They are moving to Ohio and leaving us."

"We're not leaving you, Sharpay." Gabriella intruded. "Troy got a job."

"A job that he didn't need."

"You don't know that." Gabriella retorted. "You don't know our financial situation or anything about our lives!"

"I do." Chad spoke for the group this time. "I know his financial situation. He has enough money in the bank that you could retire today if you wanted. You guys are just running away."

Everyone's mouths dropped and their eyes fell on Troy and Gabriella. No one spoke for a long time.

"We're not running from anything, Chad. You know that. It's just time for a change." As sweet and kind as she could, Gabriella tried her hardest to explain their situation to their friends.

"You need a change? Like a new job? A new house? A new life?" Taylor accused. "New friends? Is that what you want? New friends?"

"You know it's not like that -!"

"But it is, Gabriella. You guys are moving and we'll see you what? In the beginning holidays, soon it will be once a year… then high school reunions." Tears began to spew out of the girls eyes and Troy's face was becoming firmer and firmer.

"What happened to 'we're all in this together'?" Chad's voice was so harsh that he sent Troy over the edge.

"Shut up!" Troy yelled. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You guys are being so selfish! You are acting like us moving is like we're breaking up with you. Have you ever thought that maybe Albuquerque is just not the place for us to be? Maybe this town reminds us of lots of bad memories like the six years that I wasn't with Gabriella? Or what about my dad's death or Chad's accident? What about the miscarriage?"

He took a deep breath. "We need a change so that we can go back to normal again. We're walking around eggshells right now and it's killing us. But now, the people who we thought were our best friends are acting like we're doing this to intentionally hurt them. You selfish sons of bitches."

"Troy…" Gabriella put a hand on her husband's shoulder in an attempt to console him.

"No, Gabriella. I can't believe what I'm hearing."

Taylor walked over and looked into Troy's deep blue eyes, causing him to stop talking and almost stop breathing. Finally, she spoke. "Troy. When you guys move that's the end of the show. There aren't any more encores, anymore musicales. Do you understand?"

"We won't be able to hang out on the weekends or sing together on the holidays. We can't lug our kids around the world and we won't expect you to do the same thing when you have kids. You moving is the end. The finale."

Tears poured out of Gabriella's eyes and Troy began chewing on the inside of his lip. No one spoke, no one sighed and no one took a breath for a long, long time.

Finally, Gabriella broke the silence. "Taylor…we'll be best friends no matter where we live."

"Kind of like how you promised we'd be friends when you moved to North Carolina? We spoke how many times in those six years?"

"Taylor…"

"Gabriella, it's okay. We'll try to be friends, but let's be realistic."

"Taylor that's not true and you know it!" Gabriella yelled at her friend so loudly and so firmly that everyone else was stunned. But then she felt a sharp pain in her back and the ground began spinning beneath her. Everything went dark and Gabriella fainted right there in the middle of the fight.

"Gabriella?" Troy screamed, bending over and looking at his unconscious wife. "Oh my gosh, Gabs, wake up. Come on, baby, get up!" He yelled, shaking her vigorously.

"Troy what's wrong?" Sharpay screamed through teary eyes. "What happened?"

"She fainted. Gabriella, come on, Gabriella!" Troy leaned over and put his ear next to her chest. "Someone call 911! Now! Tell them that she's six months pregnant, twins. There's a previous history of a miscarriage."

When he looked up, the group of friends was just staring down at him and his wife. Everyone was stunned at what had happened in the last five minutes.

"Go!" He yelled. "Someone call for help now! She needs to get to a hospital! Come on, Gabriella. Stay with me!"

_Tale as old as time  
Tune as old as song  
Bittersweet and strange  
Finding you can change  
Learning you were wrong_

Certain as the sun (certain as the sun)  
Rising in the east  
Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the Beast  
_  
Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the beast _

_

* * *

_**Okay guys- FYI Gabriella is not dead. YET. Hahaha, ooh... Also, the fight was REALLY important. Are they going to move or NO? What about Chad? Just to give you a heads up... there is some, unfinished business of sorts between Troy & Chad. You'll see that later.**

**Next Chapter: The gang reacts to the news about the pregnancy & mingles over the fight. In the flashback, Troy gets some exciting news that puts a shift in his relationship with Gabriella. We're going to see the beginning of the reasons why they didn't stay together those six years. Because, really, there has to be a reason!**

**Also, get your tissues ready.. the next couple of chapters are going to be reallllly emotional, so it may take me a little longer to right.. just because I want them to really show you the emotions! Also, I'm going to give you a heads up. This story might not end happily. So, instead of investing in sunscreen & summer wear.. I'd splurdge for some kleenex- Triple Ply!**

P.S. Sorry that chapter sucked!


	23. Your Guardian Angel

**Okay, so I'm scum. No, I'm worse than scum. I cannot believe how far behind I am and how much I hate myself for taking over a month to update! I dont even know why I continue this story really... maybe a part of me just hopes that there are a few readers left. I promise though, that I'm going to cracking and work really hard on updating faster. There are actually only about six or so chapters left and I promise, I won't let you down. I just really need some motivation is al...**

**

* * *

**

_When I see your smile  
tears roll down my face  
I can't replace._

_And now that I'm strong I have figured out  
how this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul,  
and I know I'll find deep inside me, I can be the one._

**(Senior Year, Opening night)**

"I can't believe I ruined the show! It's all my fault!"

"Gabriella, you did not ruin the show! You were beautiful and flawless…"

"Until I fell and made a fool out of myself and the whole drama department!" Hot tears were streaming down Gabriella's cheeks and onto Troy's letterman jacket. He had one arm wrapped around her neck and the other holding a big of ice on top of her swollen wrist. The couple was sitting in a pair of two, extremely hard plastic chairs in the corner of the Emergency Room waiting area.

Troy sighed before awkwardly shifting in his seat and turning to face his girlfriend. "Gabs, listen to me. You did a beautiful job and everyone loved you! It wasn't your fault that you fell and it did not hurt your performance at all. You were the best Belle that crowd has ever seen!"

A half-smile escaped Gabriella's lips and she found herself looking up in Troy's soft blue eyes. "Yeah, but…"

Troy kissed her before she could find more ways to convince herself that she was the reason behind the rather abrupt ending to the evenings play. It wasn't really Gabriella's fault that the show ended so horribly, however, her fall created a domino effect of bad circumstances that leaded to Mrs. Darbus closing the curtain fifteen minutes early.

"Mrs.… Bolton?" A nurse wearing oversized scrubs and a pair of neon green tennis shoes walked into the waiting room to retrieve Gabriella. When she looked up from the clipboard, she made an accidental gasp and took two immediate steps backwards.

If she thought Troy looked bad in his half beast costume with dark make up and a burgundy letter jacket, then Gabriella looked ridiculous. When they realized Gabriella's wrist may be broken, the couple did not have a chance to run and change but instead had to rush to the hospital. That left Gabriella in her gold Belle dress, stage makeup and tussled hair. It also didn't help that her eyes were red and puffy and one heel was broken on her silver dance shoes.

"It's Montez." Gabriella said quietly before standing up, snatching the bag of ice out of Troy's hands and waddling towards the nurse. "Can my boyfriend come with me?"

After many pleading looks from Troy, the nurse turned on her heel and as she was walking away said, "He'll have to wait in the hall until you change, but then I guess it's alright."

Troy nodded and sat back down in the plastic chair he was previously occupying and watched his girlfriend retreat through the double doors of the emergency room. When a nurse finally came and got him, his eyes were almost shut and he was breathing heavily.

"Mr. Bolton, you can go back and see your wife now." As he stood up, the blood rushed to his head and the fluorescent hospital lights were just a little too bright.

"What? My wife?"

"Yes sir, Gabriella Bolton. The young girl with the broken wrists?"

"Oh, no ma'am, Gabriella is my girlfriend." He stood up, grabbed his jacket and began walking towards the door. "Is she um… alright?"

"She'll be fine; she can't wait to see you." And then the nurse was gone, fleeing to the other side of the desk leaving Troy to find his way to Gabriella. He took a giant gulp, took one giant step and pushed through the double doors marked "Emergency."

* * *

_I will never let you fall  
I'll stand up with you forever  
I'll be there for you through it all,  
even if saving you sends me to heaven._

**Present Day**

"Mr. Bolton, you can see your wife now."

"It's about time." Before the nurse had a chance to excuse the hospital's lack of promptness, Troy was already making his way through the double doors. His heart pounded in his chest and his head was spinning. In a lifetime of championship and NBA games, he had never been as nervous as he was now.

"She's going to be okay." He had just told himself over and over again, trying to ignore all of the warning signs that pointed in the opposite direction. Even his supposed best friends thought that it looked bad. But Troy knew his wife and knew that she was going to put up a fight.

As he had made his way down the long, empty hallways of the hospital, he almost laughed out loud. So many restless, hopeless nights were spent inside of these dreary walls and rooms. He thought it odd that he was only twenty seven and knew Albuquerque General hospital like the back of his hand.

"Knock knock." Pushing the door marked number 361 "Gabriella Bolton" gently with his foot, Troy stepped inside the dark room and was surprised to find the bed in front of him empty.

"Gabriella?"

"Are they gone?" He jumped a little when he heard his voice and was surprised to find her standing next to the window on the other side of the room. She was leaning against the cold panes of glass staring aimlessly out into the parking lot of the hospital.

"Is who gone? The babies… they're fine. But Gabriella the doctor said..."

"I know what the doctors said, Troy." She interrupted, but not daring to turn and face him. "Is Chad and Taylor and Sharpay and everyone gone. Have they left for good?"

Troy's heart dropped into his stomach. Here was his wife facing four months of bed rest and illness and she was worried about other people.

"I um, don't know really." He coughed. Taking a couple of delicate and slow steps, he reached the side of the bed that she was supposed to be resting in.

"Oh," was her only reply. She took a heavy sigh and continued starring out towards the night sky.

There was a long silence in the room while neither one spoke. Afraid of hurting each other's feelings or making the situation first, Gabriella just stared out the window while Troy played with the bouquet of flowers in his hand.

Finally, what seemed like an eternity Gabriella spoke, breaking the terrible silence. "I don't think we should move to Ohio."

"What?" Troy was more than surprised.

"I don't think we should move. I think we should just stay here, in our house."

"I got that part, thanks. What caused you to change your mind and why?" It was so hard for him to keep his temper. "I thought you liked the house."

"Troy who cares about the house?" Gabriella rounded on him, turning away from the window and facing where he was sitting.

Troy felt like dying when he saw her face. He had never seen someone look so sick before, even when his father had his heart attack or his grandmother pneumonia. Gabriella's eyes were red and swollen and her cheeks were whiter than the sheets on the bed. Her hair was mangled and matted with sweat against her face. The darkest set of circles wrested under her eyes and was inches thick.

"I don't want to loose my best friends, Troy. I don't want to just see them on holidays and vacations and then high school reunions, okay? I want to see them everyday like we do now." Tears bubbled up in the corners of his eyes and Troy began to chew on the inside of his cheek to refrain himself from crying.

"Gabriella, we'll see everybody more than holidays." As he said it, Troy knew it wasn't true. For the first time that night he realized that his friends were right in thinking that their friendship was over. Because in fact, it really was.

"You and I both know it won't last." She took the words right out of his mouth. "We'll move and yeah, they'll visit a lot in the beginning but then we'll grow apart and have busier schedules and kids in school and growing careers."

"But…"

"But what? You can't argue with it because you know it's true." Tears were pouring down her face now. "Troy I lost you when I promised I wouldn't, and when we move to Ohio it's just going to happen again."

"You aren't going to loose me though." He stood up and walked over towards her, but when he reached out to wrap his arms around her, she flinched.

"I know that. It's our friends I'm afraid of loosing."

"We'll do whatever it takes to keep them close and if something happens, we'll just make new friends." When Troy looked up, Gabriella had the saddest look on her face and he realized why. Had he just suggested that they make new friends? A sick feeling began to stir in his stomach and soon the memories he had with Chad and the gang seemed to come flooding back to him.

" Troy Bolton, you can't possibly even begin to think of just forgetting our old friends and saying goodbye?"

"Well, why not!" His voice rose for the first time and Gabriella had a frightened look in her eye. "They abandoned us tonight, didn't they? Chad and Taylor and Ryan and Sharpay didn't sit out in the waiting room with me, no! They all went home to their nice houses and nice families!"

"Maybe they had something to do…" If it seemed like Gabriella was crying before, it was nothing compared to the amount of tears flowing from her eyes now.

Troy swore under his breath. "No, Gabs, they didn't. Chad and I haven't been friends for a long time and you know that and I don't think we ever will be again."

"Troy don't say that…"

But Troy didn't say another word. The thought of not having his bushy haired, basketball loving, joke telling best friend in his life anymore was to much to bear. A lump the size of an orange developed in his throat and tears were beginning to brim. It took every amount of energy he had not to break down and cry in front of Gabriella.

He excused himself after promising several times that he was okay and made his way to the nearest bathroom. Heart pounding and head spinning, it was if all his childhood memories were coming back to him like ghosts. Voices and laughter from the days in Troy's old house and the basketball court at East High Elementary seemed to be trying to tease him.

Once he was inside the bathroom, he leaned up against a stall door, stuffed his fist into his mouth and bit down as hard as he could. No one had ever seen him cry before and tonight wasn't going to be the first time. I'm not some little girl that cries over losing a friend. But then again, this is my best friend. Chad and I have been through everything together.

His emotions were battling against themselves and soon, one tiny tear escaped from his eye. It was so small that if someone was to walk in the bathroom right now, they wouldn't have known. That was all though that it took for Troy to break down.

Kneeling on the concrete floor of the bathroom, Troy sobbed into his hands for every bit of pain he had suffered through. Ever set of tears he had pushed aside in fear of being ashamed came pouring out onto the floor. Troy cried for his dead father, his dead child and as far as he was concerned, his dead best friend.

He cried for Gabriella, her dark circles and suffering. Tears poured for every moment he had lost with her during those six years. He was lost in a sea of emotions and there was no going back. Instead, he just sat there in the middle of the bathroom crying…

* * *

_Seasons are changing and waves are crashing  
and stars are falling all for us  
days grow longer and nights grow shorter  
I can show you I'll be the one._

**(Flashback continued)**

"Hey stranger." Gabriella looked up at his boyfriend dressed in the legs of his beast costume and a white undershirt. "What took you so long?"

"I think the nurse forgot about me." Slowly, he walked towards the side of the bed. "How's your wrist?"

She raised her left hand and showed him the pink cast. "I have to wear this for six weeks, but then the doctor said it should be good as new."

Troy smiled, but inside his stomach was twisting into an excruciating knot. He didn't exactly know how to respond to his seeing his girlfriend hurt, in a hospital gown and doped up on pain medicine.

"That's good. And hey, you can still write."

"I know, isn't that great! That means I won't have to miss any school either, because you know we have that English test on Thursday and then Friday is…" Troy broke off her rant about schoolwork with a long, slow and seductive kiss on the lips. They had missed their opportunity to kiss on stage and since he didn't know what else to do, he just kissed her.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to do that?" She asked when they pulled apart. Her cheeks were red and flustered, but other than that, Troy thought she looked absolutely perfect.

"I do actually." He kissed her quickly one more time and then sat down on the edge of the bed facing her.

"I was wondering if you would be the first person to sign my cast?"

"Uh, sure. Do you have a pen?" Troy already knew the answer though before he had to ask. Of course neither one of them had a pen because they had rushed so out of the theatre.

"I'll sign it later. You're moms on the way, I'm sure she'll have a pen."

"And everything else you would need to survive." Gabriella giggled furiously causing Troy's heart to flutter and the knots disappear altogether.

"I love you." He reached over and grabbed her cast- free hand. "I can't believe that the nurses kept calling you Ms. Bolton."

"What's so wrong with that?"

"Well, for one, that's my mother's name." At that thought, Troy scrunched up his nose and had a look of disgust on his face. "And also, we're not married."

"Oh." Gabriella's face fell to the floor and her giggly, upbeat personality disappeared. "I get it."

"Oh, no, Gabs, I'm sorry. I'm so stupid…" The knot was now replaced with an incredible feeling of guilt. Had he ruined her night even more so?

"No, it's my fault. I was just letting my imagination get to the best of me is all…"

"Us getting married isn't a part of my imagination." What had intended to make her feel better seemed to have just made her feel worse. "No, what I meant was, it's real for me. I mean, yeah, I think we'll get married one day."

"You do?" Gabriella was a lot more surprised than Troy expected. "You really do?"

"Well, I think if you convince me to sing in front of a thousand people, jeopardize my basketball career and wear tights….then I oughta marry you or something."

Hearing her giggle made the knot disappear again. "So you really think we'll get married. I mean, a long time from now, of course."

"Gabi, I practically live at your house now as it is. I mean, I have my own drawer for heaven's sake and we do everything that married people do except pay bills… and um, well you know what."

She blushed again and Troy felt like he was flying. "I love you Gabriella. The only reason I wouldn't marry you right now is because we're in a hospital and I don't think our parents would approve…"

"Wow, Troy that makes me so happy to think about. Us getting married, I mean. Especially if we go off to school together, that would just be perfect. I had no idea that you felt that way…"

"What do you mean? How do you think I felt?"

"I guess, sometimes, I just wonder if all we are is a high school fling. Something that will burn out during college and I'll look back on when I'm old and grey and wonder." Her eyes fell again and now the knot turned into worry. What if she was right? Troy wondered. What if they could possibly fizzle out…

"I don't feel that way about you at all Gabriella." He mumbled, his voice softer than ever. "I feel something for you that is so strong and so…definite, that I don't know what on Earth could possibly tear it apart."

Troy leaned down and kissed her again on the lips and when he did, an accidental tear fell on her cheek bone. Gabriella barely flinched, but they didn't break apart. He grabbed the hand that was covered in plaster and squeezed her fingers. Seeing her like this triggered something inside of him. Was he really going to consider marrying Gabriella? And how soon?

"Eh hem." The cough sent the couple flying apart and Troy practically fell off the bed. A nurse was standing at Gabriella's feet holding up a large, oozing needle. Troy wobbled backwards, trying to find another chair. "If you two wouldn't mind…taking a break… while I gave Miss Bolton a shot?"

Troy just nodded his head and swaggered towards the red cushioned chair. The nurse walked on the opposite side of Gabriella, directly in front of him so that he could see the needle sticking its ugly head in the air.

"Troy are you okay?" Gabriella asked him, but he could barely hear her. The nurse was wiping a small area of Gabriella's arm with an alcohol pad.

He gulped. "Trash can."

"What?" And the needle then made its dive, falling closer and closer to Gabriella's skin.

"Troy what's wrong?" She winced when it hit her skin and dove through her flesh.

Troy's face fell and his cheeks turned whiter than show.

He threw up right in the middle of the floor. Oh, what a night it had been.

* * *

_I will never let you fall  
I'll stand up with you forever.  
I'll be there for you through it all,  
even if saving you sends me to heaven._

**(Present Day continued)**

"Where did you go?" Gabriella asked when Troy walked back into her room. She was on her bed now and several cords and IV's were running through her. There was a small desk lamp on and Troy could now see the extent of machinery in the room.

"Um, bathroom." He gave her a look that told her not to ask anymore questions, because he didn't want to talk about it. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay I guess. The nurse just came in and gave me about six shots, so it's probably for the best that you left." He felt like throwing up just thinking of six ugly, venomous needles.

"Yeah, probably so." He walked over to the edge of her bed and sat down. "Can I?" There was a brush sitting on the edge of the night stand.

Once she gave her approval, Troy reached over, grabbed the brush and began running its teeth through her long, dark hair. She closed her eyes and it seemed like she was almost asleep when she spoke.

"I can't stand the thought of loosing our friends, Troy." She breathed. "But I couldn't survive without you."

"Gabriella…"

"And if you are going to be in Ohio, than that's where I need to be, because you are my home."

Troy felt more tears coming and he just bit them back like usual. Gabriella's eyes were still closed and she took a deep breath. "I just wish they knew how much I love them."

"We do."

Troy turned around Gabriella's eyes flew open. The voice belonging to the intruder was standing in the doorway, a baby slung on her hip and the other one standing on the floor, holding her hand. Behind her were a dozen other people, smiling at the couple.

"We know how much you love us and we just hope that you'll find it in your hearts to forgive us for how we acted earlier."

Troy and Gabriella didn't speak, but just watched as one by one their friends poured into the small hospital room.

"We love you guys too much to lose you." Sharpay spoke as she rocked the baby back and forth. "And we'd much rather have you move than hate us and never speak to us again."

"We could never hate you." Gabriella was the first to speak, as Troy's mouth was still standing open. "We just… we need to do this, do you understand? I need to be with Troy and if Troy's in Ohio or Mars or wherever, than that's where I need to be."

"We get it and we know that no matter where you live, we'll be best friends. And even if we just see each other on Thanksgiving and Christmas, than it will make those times just more special."

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Gabriella asked, skeptically. "No more fights and arguments, because we only have about six more months here and I would really like those to be spent together… not us fighting with each other."

"We're going to miss you, yeah." Taylor said as she walked over to her friend. "But we love you Gabriella and Troy. So we'll let you go under one condition."

"And what's that?" Troy spoke for the first time and his voice was almost bitter and resentful.

"That you let us throw you a kick ass going away party." Sharpay spoke this time. "I've already begun planning it out and trust me, it's going to be spectacular."

"No, guys, we don't need anything big and elaborate. Just maybe a nice little dinner…"

"Gabriella, you promised!" With her brown eyes staring into her best friends, Taylor could convince Gabriella that water is made out of Nitrogen.

"Okay fine, but nothing too big!" The group laughed except for two members who just hung their heads, not daring to speak or look up. Chad's eyes were as red and blotchy as Troy's, but the amount of pride in between them wouldn't allow for apologizes or words of comfort. Instead, the men just stood there, glaring at the floor holding their heads in shame….

* * *

_Cause I'm here, for you  
please don't walk away and  
please tell me you'll stay, stay.._

Use me as you will  
pull my strings just for a thrill  
and I know I'll be okay  
though my skies are turning gray.

**(Twenty- two years ago, Albequerque, New Mexico. Sometime during the summer...)**

_'Hi, my name's Chad Jefferson Danforth the second. What's yours?' 'Troy.' A short, blue eyed little boy stood face to face with one of the biggest kids he had ever seen. Chad Danforth was about five foot six and only five years old._

_'We just moved in next door. I'm from Brooklyn, New York and I know all of the states and their capitals. You wanna hear?'_

_'I was going to go play basketball with my dad and Ryan Evans. Would you like to come?' Troy picked up the basketball sitting at his feet and smiled. 'Come on, my mom always brings us ice cream sandwiches.'_

_Chad shrugged his shoulders. 'I'm going to be a professional basketball player one day. I'm going to play for the Los Angeles Lakers with Shaq!'_

_'No you're not because I'm going to play for the Lakers! I can already make a three point shot!'_

_'Maybe when you stand on your dads shoulders, shorty! I' m going to play for the Lakers!'_

_'Are not.'_

_'Are too.'_

_'Well,' Young Troy stopped and turned towards his new friend as they were walking towards his backyard. 'I'm going to play for the East High School Wildcats and we're going to win the championship game!'_

_'Who are they?' Troy's blue eyes grew as wide as they could and he looked absolutely stunned._

_'You've never heard of the Wildcats?' Chad shook his head 'no'. 'They are only the best team around and my dad coaches for them and one day I'm going to be the star of the team….'_

_'Can I be on the team too?'_

_'Only my best friends are on the team like Ryan and Sharpay.'_

_'Who's Sharpay?' Chad asked as they squeezed through the fence. 'Can I be your best friend then?'_

_'Sharpay is my girlfriend, she lives next door too.' Troy stopped and helped pull Chad through. 'I guess you could be my best friend, but we have to do the tradition.'_

_'What's that?'_

_'We have to become spit brothers.' Troy said as if it were the most common fact in the world. 'I spit in my hand and you spit in yours and we shake on it.'_

_'Awesome.' Chad was the first to spit into his hand, leaving a big ball of wet slime cupped in his hand. Troy followed and soon both boys shook hands making them official 'spit brothers.'_

_'Okay then, Chad Jefferson Danforth the Second. You and I are officially best friends!'_

_'You know, since we're best friends… you could just call me Chad.' When Troy reached his father who was standing on the basketball court in their backyard, he smiled._

_'Dad, this is Chad, my new best friend. He's going to play with me and the Wildcats and then one day we'll play with the Lakers together. Don't say anything but I'm better than him. He's from Brooklyn and knows all of the states….'_

* * *

okay guys, I tried to make it really long and good for you. If there are any readers still left-- thank you so much, and please, please review! I would really appreciate it and it would make my day! FYI I'm moving out August 19th but like I promised, I'm really going to be kicking my butt trying to finish this. ... just for you guys!

Next chapter: During high school, Troy gets some exciting things that shake up not only the school but things with Gabriella. During present day, all of the unspoken words, uncried tears and bitter feelings coming pouring out between Troy and Chad. Will things survive between the two best friends or is it over for good?

* * *


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